Doppelganger
by Kenya Starflight
Summary: Sequel to Domovoi. A new Breach has opened, and the Rangers and the newly-sentient Jaegers of the PPDC are prepared to defend Earth once again. But the war takes a bizarre turn when Newt uncovers something startling about these new Kaiju...
1. Prologue

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a sequel to _Domovoi, _my first _Pacific Rim _fanfic. It is strongly recommended that you read that fic before you read this one, otherwise you'll have no idea what's going on._

_Finally, three-and-a-half years after the end of _Domovoi... _the sequel, _Doppelganger! _Took me long enough to get around to penning this. I know I ended the first fic on a terrible sequel hook, so hopefully this rectifies the situation. Plus, I know some people have just wanted more Jaeger action/cuteness, so hopefully this satisfies that itch..._

_The events of _Pacific Rim: Uprising _do not occur in this AU, and will not impact this fic. Any similarities between this fic and _Uprising _are completely accidental. (Seriously, I haven't even seen the film save a single trailer, and after reading the plot summary on Wikipedia I have no desire to do so...)_

* * *

EVENT LOG FROM PAN-PACIFIC DEFENSE CORPS ARCHIVES

MEDIA TYPE: Digital video footage

SOURCE: Personal video camera of Phoebe Banner, civilian American citizen

DATE RECORDED: June 24, 2027

LOCATION RECORDED: Pacific Ocean, approximately 500 kilometers off coast of Hawaii

"Hey, guys, this is Phoebe Banner, and welcome to Day Twelve of my trip around the world. Not that anyone's going to watch this until I reach dock, but… you know, gotta keep a log of events. Even if they're boring events."

_The subject of the video - a 20-year-old woman, Caucasian, red hair, gray eyes - smiles at the camera and flashes a peace sign. The video is taken in the cabin of a sailboat, identified as the _September.

"Anyhow, keeping this video diary was Dad's idea, so… thank you, Dad. You're smarter than you look. _*laughs* _Keeping this log has kept me sane, really - I mean, who else am I gonna talk to? Except maybe Romeo. Say hi, Romeo!"

_Phoebe reaches towards the camera, which turns to focus on a black-and-white "tuxedo" cat in a fluorescent yellow life vest. The cat lays on a sleeping bunk, looking alertly at the camera._

"So I'm not gonna set any records for being the youngest person to sail around the world, or even the youngest girl, but at least I'll be the first person to sail alone with a cat, I guess. Though is it really alone if you have a cat… okay, I'm rambling, let's go topside."

_A hand reaches out to scratch the cat's head, then the camera lurches as Phoebe picks it up and makes her way through the ship. All signs point toward a craft well-stocked for a long journey, albeit with some personal touches on the sailor's part - painted artwork on most interior surfaces, charms and crystals hung from ribbons on the ceiling, etc. Occasional meows can be heard._

"So we're making decent time… we should make it to Hawaii in the next day or two to resupply. Guess I should brush up on my Hawaiian, huh? My parents say Hawaii actually used to be a hot vacation spot back before K-Day - they even spent their honeymoon there. Wild, huh? But the tourists and all the _haoles _evacuated when the Kaiju War started and it belongs to the natives now. I guess they're not complaining, they got their land back, right?"

_The camera jerks, dipping down to show Phoebe's feet as she climbs the stairs to the deck of the _September. _The cat, Romeo, can be seen in flashes at her feet, keeping pace and meowing for attention._

"Hi boy! Hi Romeo! For prosperity's sake, this is Romeo Blue, and yes, he's named after one of the original Jaegers. Except he's much cuter than a giant robot. No offense to anyone watching this who's a Jaeger fan. Jaegers are awesome, they saved the world, they're just not that cute. Except Cherno, he's the adorable exception. Speaking of which, must check if there's an Internet cafe in Hawaii. I wanna see if the Kaidonovskys have updated their blog. And of course post two weeks' worth of videos to my vlog…"

_The camera emerges into near-blinding daylight - the sky is a clear, brilliant blue, the sea mostly calm. The camera pans to take in the seascape, which stretches to the horizon in every direction. There are no signs of other ships, land, or aquatic or aerial life to be seen._

"So this pod of dolphins was following us for the past few hours, and I was hoping to get a shot of them for you guys, but… it looks like they ditched us. Hopefully they come back soon. I've seen a couple whales too, but of course it's always when I'm busy wrangling the sails and not when I actually have the camera handy - hey!"

_A loud yowl from Romeo interrupts Phoebe. The camera pans over to show the cat perched on the bow of the ship, back arched, making low threatening meows. Fur not pinned beneath the life vest is standing on end, and his ears are pinned back in an expression of displeasure._

"Romeo, what's wrong? Do you smell something? We're hundreds of miles from the nearest dog, so we know it's not that… Guess I should shut this off and go furl the sails. Last time he started doing this a storm blew in. Animals really do have a sixth-sense about this kind of thing, it turns out… oh whoa."

_The camera stills, focusing on a seemingly random spot in the ocean. Bubbles froth on the surface, and more rise every second, as if the water were inexplicably boiling in one tiny part of the ocean._

"What IS that? That's not a whale… is that sharks? That better not be sharks…"

_Romeo's distressed meows are nearly constant now. The water churns with bubbles, then begins to bulge upwards as if something was trying to breach the surface._

"Oh my god… OH MY GOD!"

_The camera jigs wildly from side to side as Phoebe backpedals and falls, and as the _September _heaves from side to side in a suddenly violent ocean. Water crashes down on the camera, and Romeo's cries are barely heard over the sound of spray and oceanic eruption. Phoebe screams, and there are several lines of unintelligible speech drowned out by a loud, guttural snarl._

"Oh my god this can't be [unintelligible]"

_The camera finally settles on the source of the disturbance - a massive gray-skinned head looming out of the ocean, dripping seawater and tangles of kelp hanging from projections on its chin and neck. The head is X-shaped and bony-looking, with two sets of eyes spaced wide apart and a split, pronged chin. Blue light filters out from between its teeth, as if illuminated from within, and scrawled lines of bright cyan pattern its hide._

"That's a Kaiju! That's a KAIJU! They're supposed to be extinct, what the hell!"

_The Kaiju remains still, its eyes fixed on the boat. The camera holds mostly steady, quite at odds with the hysterical nature of the camera-holder. Romeo continues to yowl, and the camera briefly jerks to one side to show the cat, soaked to the skin but unhurt and still displaying anger towards the Kaiju._

"Oh my god, we're dead, we're dead, we're dead… it's gonna kill us, oh god… Mom, Dad, if you ever see this, I love you so much, please hug Wayde and tell him his big sister loves him…"

_The Kaiju opens its mouth slightly and growls. Then it sinks slowly beneath the surface, the waves generated by its movements drenching the _September. _Romeo continues to yowl for several minutes after the Kaiju vanishes from sight._

"...holy shit. I gotta find the radio. There's got to be Coast Guard or something around here, they need to know about this…"

NOTES FROM MARSHAL TENDO CHOI

_This videorecording marks the first documented contact with a Kaiju since the sealing of the second Breach in 2025, commonly called the Battle of Koko Guyot. The Kaiju in question - classified by Pan-Pacific Defense Corps archives as Slattern, a Category-5 Kaiju first identified at Operation Pitfall - inflicted no damage on the sailing sloop _September _save some moderate swamping, and no injury on its operator or her companion save giving both a good fright and soaking. This is surprisingly not unusual, as individual boats and ships were not common targets for Kaiju attacks unless they were in their direct path to a coastal city._

_The reappearance of Slattern confirms what the PPDC has suspected - another Breach has opened, and more Kaiju have entered our waters. The number of Kaiju at large, and which types, are currently unknown._

_All Jaegers will be recalled to whichever operational Shatterdome is closest to their place of residence, and prepared for immediate action. No Kaiju has made landfall yet, but we have received a rare and valuable advance warning. And this time around, we will not be caught by surprise. The humans and mechanisms of the Pan-Pacific Defense Corps will protect our shores from these monsters at all costs._


	2. Back In Action

Sasha Kaidonovsky, Ranger to Cherno Alpha of the Vladivostok Shatterdome, groaned and pulled the blankets up more firmly around her head as the phone blared at her from the nightstand. She didn't bother to roll over to check the ID - if it was an emergency, they would call back. Otherwise they could damn well leave a message, and she could enjoy a few more minutes of peace and quiet.

Aleksis Kaidonovsky, her fellow Ranger and husband, mumbled sleepily but didn't fully awaken. Lucky man - in most instances he could sleep through a Kaiju attack. Though the claxon alarm of a Shatterdome would have him awake and alert in an instant, anything else failed to disturb him out of his slumber.

The strains of Titanus' "Red Star Rising" finally cut out… only to start up again. Between the two Rangers, a third form stirred and let out a high whine - but less like a dog or a child and more like a small engine revving itself up.

_Mama? What's that sound?_

"Sshhh, just the phone, little one," she whispered, patting the little mechanism's reactor tower. "I'll get it."

Cherno Alpha nodded and snuggled back into the blankets, tucking his Conn Pod against Aleksis' chest. Aleksis gave another sleepy mumble and draped his arm around the little Jaeger, then drifted off again.

Sasha chuckled at the sight and picked up the phone… and stopped laughing when she saw the name displayed. She swiped the "answer" icon and hurried out of the bedroom to take the call.

"Ranger Kaidonivsky reporting."

"Sasha, sorry to wake you up," came the voice of Marshal Tendo Choi, sounding more familiar than professional at the moment.

"Emergencies don't wait for waking hours," she replied. "And this is an emergency, I take it?"

"There's been a Kaiju sighting in the Pacific."

Her stomach tightened with dread. Another Breach… another rift between worlds, and another attempt by the Precursors to take Earth for themselves. After so much sacrifice and pain and struggle to seal off the Anteverse, the barrier between worlds had once again been torn asunder. It seemed that no matter what they did, their world would never be safe.

"Sasha? Are you there?"

"I am here," she replied. "The news was… startling."

"Understandable. The PPDC is in an uproar over this. Team Mustang Omega in particular did their share of freaking out, for obvious reasons."

After two years, it still felt strange to think of Dr. Geizler and Dr. Gottlieb as Rangers and not just the PPDC's Science Division. But that was a conundrum for another time. "Which city?"

"City?"

"Yes. Which city is under attack? Or has it already been destroyed."

"No city… the Kaiju was spotted in the middle of the ocean. Every coastline is on high alert, but no one has reported this Kaiju making landfall. And given its location and the speed at which they can travel, it should have reached a coastline by now."

Sasha didn't need to be a xenobiologist to understand that this was abnormal behavior for a Kaiju… and that disturbed her. When a Kaiju started acting strangely, it never meant anything good. "It won't be just one. There will be others."

"Very true. They're like rats in that way." A pause, and when he spoke again his voice was far more formal, that of a superior officer rather than a friend. "Ranger Kaidonovsky, we are requesting that Team Cherno Alpha return to the Vladivostok Shatterdome and prepare for Kaiju landfall."

She hesitated - not because she was reluctant to fight again, but because what he requested might not be possible. "Cherno Alpha's larger body was destroyed at Koko Guyot. The replacement body has not yet been completed."

"The PPDC has issued an order to the construction crews to speed up production as much as possible without compromising structural integrity," Tendo replied.

That decided it for her. "Then we will report to the Shatterdome today. Give us an hour or so to pack."

"Are you sure?" Tendo asked, his voice dropping the professional gloss and full of genuine concern. "Is Cherno Alpha willing to keep fighting? We won't force the Jaegers to fight against their wills."

Sasha peered into the bedroom, watching the two men in her life sleep, Cherno curled up against Aleksis like a bear cub snuggled against its mother. Most nights Cherno did his nightly defrags in his own bed, but on occasion he insisted on sleeping next to his Rangers. And to be honest, neither of them minded it… so long as he didn't interrupt them during an intimate moment.

"Absolutely," she replied. "The Jaegers would never turn down a call to arms. Cherno Alpha will fight. And the Kaiju will run back to their Breach with their tails between their legs."

"I have no doubt about that," Tendo replied with a soft laugh. "Report to the Vladivostok Shatterdome by 1800 tonight. Once there and once you've been briefed on the situation so far, stand by for further orders."

"Yes, Marshal. Sasha out."

She set the phone down, then gazed back at her sleeping family. Two years… they'd had two years' respite from the monsters of the deep. Two years during which they had purchased a small but comfortable home just outside Vladivostok, enrolled Cherno into school, and garnered an unlikely online following via a blog composed almost entirely of photos of their Jaeger-son and his antics. Two years that had seen their growth as a family… and their loss as one too, as they had watched their beloved Uncle Ilya succumb to a heart attack and buried him. Two years of joy and pain, but most of all of peace and contentment, of a life she believed they had more than earned.

Those years were far more time than she had expected them to have, yet they still didn't feel like enough. It felt like they had just managed to establish themselves as a family, to settle into the domestic routines that the war had denied them.

But she knew they would fight anyhow. They were family… but they were also warriors. Warriors who had dedicated their lives to protecting humanity from the Kaiju. And they weren't about to go soft and weak now.

She pulled the covers off her sleeping husband. "Wake up."

Aleksis mumbled something about coffee and five more minutes before drifting back off, hugging Cherno as if the little Jaeger were a teddy bear. Cherno squeaked softly but didn't protest the embrace.

"Cherno, tell your father to wake up," Sasha ordered. "We're to report to the Shatterdome today."

Cherno twisted about in Aleksis' arms to face her, the glowing optical sensors in his amber Conn Pod fixed on her. _Shatterdome? The Kaiju are back?_

She nodded. "One has been sighted. We don't know where it will land, but we must be prepared."

Cherno pulsed back a feeling of agreement, and he began to shove at Aleksis' chest. _Papa, wake up! There's a Kaiju!_

That did the trick - Aleksis sat bolt upright, face contorted in an expression of fury. "How dare they? We just barely shut the Breach on them!"

"It's been two years, love," Sasha reminded him. "Still… it hardly seems fair, doesn't it?" She managed a slight smile before going sober again. "Pack a suitcase. Cherno, go to your room and decide which toys and books you want to take with you. We may be at the Shatterdome for awhile, so be prepared."

_Yes, Mama. _He wriggled out of bed and trotted out of the room.

Aleksis watched their Jaeger-son go, frowning behind his beard. "Are they ready for him?"

"They will be very soon," Sasha replied. "They have almost completed his larger chassis. We must hope the Kaiju gives us enough time to refresh ourselves with a Conn Pod before it attacks."

Aleksis nodded, but his gaze remained on the doorway. "I have gotten so used to our Cherno being so little. It will be strange looking up at him again."

At that, Sasha managed a full-fledged smile. "We managed before. We will manage again. And it will not be forever. We have proven Breaches can be closed. It's but a matter of finding this one and wiping out the Precursor's mongrels before they do too much damage."

He smiled back, then rose from the bed. "I'll find our suitcases."

She nodded and went to the closet to pull out a few changes of clothing. They had been called to help cancel another apocalypse, and that was a call no Ranger could turn down.

* * *

Raleigh Beckett had never really let himself consider what he would do with his life after the end of the Kaiju War. He had taken to just living his life one day at a time, existing in the moment, appreciating each day as if it were his last - which, for a Ranger, was an all-too-likely possibility. Once in awhile he had idly toyed with the idea of maybe taking classes or dating, but he hadn't seriously entertained any of them.

He had never imagined his future would involve helping his Jaeger figure out how to maintain a relationship with her long-distance boyfriend. But then, life seemed determined to surprise him at every turn ever since Operation Pitfall.

_RALEIGH!_

Raleigh winced and put down the e-reader as Gipsy Danger stormed into his bedroom, her footsteps heavy enough to shake the pictures hanging on the walls. "Ow… Gip, you don't need to shout. I'm right here."

_Sorry, _she replied. _But Raleigh, what am I gonna do about this?_

"Calm down, Gip," he soothed, reaching out to pat her arm. "Do about what? Talk to me and tell me what's going on."

The blue Jaeger let out a deep rumble, almost like a sigh, as she tried to calm herself. The golden lights of her optical sensors swept Raleigh's bedroom in the Anchorage apartment they shared - the rumpled bed, the vintage action movie posters and family photos on the walls, the textbooks and worn paperbacks piled on the desk. Then, with another rumble, she sat down on the bed, the frame creaking under her weight, just as Mako appeared in the doorway.

"Gipsy, is everything okay?"

_Yeah… no… I dunno. _Gipsy picked at the joints of her fingers. _Sorry… I didn't mean to shout my thoughts._

"It's okay," Raleigh assured her. Despite all the Jaegers being fitted with vocalizers, many of them still preferred to talk with their Rangers via the drift, something he saw no reason to discourage. "What's going on?"

_I just got done with a video call with Striker, _she explained.

His shoulders tensed, and he felt himself bristling at that. "Did he just break up with you?"

_No! _Gipsy exclaimed. _No, he didn't. _A little humor trickled into her mental voice. _Besides, what would you do if he did? He can still take you in a fight._

"I don't know," Mako noted with an impish little smile. "Raleigh can do many impossible things when he puts his mind to it. He'll fly straight to Australia if he hears Striker hurts you."

Raleigh shrugged. "Yeah… I would. No one hurts my sister and gets away with it."

_Aw, Raleigh… _If Jaegers had skin and blood flow, she would have been blushing at that remark. _Don't worry… Striker would never hurt me. But… he asked something during this call. And I dunno how to answer._

"What did he ask?" Mako inquired.

_He… he wants me to move in with him. To go live with him in Sydney._

His smile faded. "You're kidding."

Gipsy shook her Conn Pod - though could it even be called that if it was far too small to fit pilots anymore? _I'm not joking. He says if we want to "make a real go of this," we should live together. And he thinks it'll be easier for me to go there than for him to come here._

Raleigh's anger had been slowly ebbing as he joked with Gipsy, but it inexplicably flared up again at that statement. How dare Striker try to swoop in and take his Jaeger, his _sister, _from him? How dare he try to convince her to flee her home, to leave behind her family? Surely a fellow Jaeger, of all beings, knew how important those bonds were…

Mako's hand squeezed his wrist, breaking him out of his growing rage. Her eyes flashed in warning, but her tone was curious as she addressed Gipsy. "Do you want to go to Sydney? It's your choice, you know. You're an autonomous being, and can make your own decisions."

Raleigh opened his mouth to protest, then forced it shut. Mako was perfectly right - Gipsy was her own creature, not needing him or Mako to give her movement and life anymore. And she had the ability to choose her own future… even if it was a future without her rangers. That knowledge hurt worse than he'd expected, but he tried to push aside his own feelings in favor of Gipsy's.

_I don't know, _Gipsy confessed. _I want to be near him - ever since we got sent back to our own Shatterdomes, I've missed being around him. We Skype all the time, but it's not the same. But I don't want to leave you two either. And I don't want to leave the United States without a Jaeger to protect it._

Mako shook her head. "This is your choice, Gipsy. Don't worry about us - worry about what will make you happy. And if that means leaving us, we will understand."

"Besides, there hasn't been a Kaiju attack in years," Raleigh assured her. "I think the US can survive being down a Jaeger…"

Mako's phone chose to ring at that moment. She pulled it out of her pocket and gazed at the screen - and froze, her face paling.

"It's Hong Kong," she noted. "Marshal Choi."

Gipsy crooned in worry. _You better answer it._

Mako turned away from the others, speaking in a low voice. Raleigh and Gipsy exchanged a long, worried look. If Choi wanted to make casual conversation, he usually just texted them. For him to call - and actually use the Hong Kong Shatterdome's phone lines instead of his personal phone - meant he was acting in his capacity as Marshal, something he hadn't done since the Jaegers had returned to their home bases.

"One moment," Mako murmured, and turned to face her comrades. "There has been a Kaiju sighting in the Pacific."

Raleigh's gut clenched. Gipsy's fingers clenched into fists, and fear and anger trickled into her voice.

_What coastline? _she demanded. _Give us a location. We'll kick its ass!_

"It was far offshore, and hasn't made landfall," Mako replied. "But he is asking us to report to the Anchorage Shatterdome-"

_I can be packed in five minutes! _Gipsy announced, and shot to her feet.

"Whoa, girl," Raleigh told her. "Are you sure you want to do this? To leap back into action like this? Just a few minutes ago you were discussing boyfriend problems with us."

_This is more important! _she insisted. _I'm a Jaeger. We fight Kaiju. That's all there is to it. I'm needed, and I'm not going to let a little thing like a relationship hiccup stand in my way. _She let her gaze move between her Rangers. _Are you two coming with me?_

"Are you kidding me?" Raleigh replied. "Just try leaving us behind. We fight alongside you, remember? We're a team, the three of us. We're family."

Gipsy gave another croon, this one of pride and joy, and she swept the two Rangers into a hug. Raleigh allowed himself a moment to just lean against his Jaeger, the mechanism he loved as a sister, just as close as flesh and blood. The three of them were siblings, regardless of the fact that one of them had been forged and constructed while the other two had no blood relation. And nothing was going to separate them, not even a skyscraper-sized monster.

_I just wish Yancy could be with us too, _she said wistfully. _And Pentecost._

Raleigh sucked in a deep breath. "Me too. Not a day goes by when I don't miss Yancy."

"And I miss Pentecost," Mako added quietly. "But they are with us in spirit… in the drift. Let us honor their memories by fighting well."

Gipsy nodded, and she released them and ducked out. Mako followed her out, resuming her conversation with Tendo, while Raleigh pulled a duffel out and began to throw a few things together. They would have to continue their discussion another time - a Kaiju sighting was a little more important.

* * *

Marshal Tendo Choi hung up the phone with a soft sigh. It was done. The Jaegers and their Rangers had responded to the call, and were heading for their Shatterdomes to await the arrival of the Kaiju - Cherno Alpha to Vladivostok, Gipsy Danger to Anchorage, Striker Eureka to Syndey, Coyote Tango to Tokyo, Brawler Yukon to Vancouver, and Crimson Typhoon here to Hong Kong. Despite being autonomous creatures now, they still chose to defend humanity.

Tendo felt a twinge of guilt at uprooting the Jaegers and their Rangers from their new lives - lives they had more than earned through their hard work and sacrifice. But he had given them the option to refuse, and not one of them had taken it. There was something to be said about that level of loyalty.

He left his office and made for the lift leading to the hangars. The arrival of a new Kaiju only confirmed what the PPDC had long suspected - the Precursors weren't done with their world. Their defeat at Hawaii hadn't crushed their resolve at all. Indeed, if they were anything like humanity they would be only more determined to take the planet for their own… and exact vengeance in the bargain.

_In a way, I can't blame them, _he thought. _Their own world is dying, and they need to move on or they'll face extinction. But that doesn't mean we have to roll over and let them take Earth for themselves._

He stepped out of the lift and entered the Jaeger bay, struck once again by how empty and lonely it felt. Gone were the days when seven Jaegers had rubbed shoulders within these walls, filling the air with their humming and growling. Almost all the bays stood vacant, their occupants having scattered to cities along the Pacific Rim to better protect their "home" countries. Two Jaegers remained… but their bodies stood inert and lifeless, eerie as corpses.

Tendo sighed. He still wasn't sure if spreading their forces across the world was a good idea, but it had been the PPDC's call. And in all honesty, he had to wonder if it wasn't just his personal biases talking, if he hadn't wanted Cherno and Gipsy and the others to return to their home bases just because he considered them friends and missed their company…

"_Tendo!"_

An excited cry cut into his wistful thoughts, and a grin spread across his face as a black mechanism bolted towards him. He raised a hand, and Mustang Omega gave him a light high-five that he still felt clear into his shoulder.

"_You finally came out of your office!" _the young Mark-VI exclaimed, practically radiating glee as he danced from foot to foot. _"Uncle Newt thought we were going to have to come drag you out!"_

"I wasn't in there THAT long," Tendo replied. "But it's good to see you. Everything good with you and your Rangers?"

Mustang bobbed his Conn Pod enthusiastically. _"They're with Tacit at the moment. He still hasn't accepted a new set of Rangers, but he seems to appreciate their company, at least."_

"Good… that's good." Tendo felt a knot in his chest relax at that. Tacit Ronin had been the Shatterdome's latest project - one of the Jaegers in Oblivion Bay determined to still have a working core, but with no living Rangers. While Mammoth Apostle and Hydra Corinthian were currently in the United States and Panama respectively with their Rangers, getting used to being mobile and having smaller bodies they could switch to at will, Tacit still grieved for his own Rangers and had yet to accept replacements. Both Tendo and Caitlyn had fretted that the Jaeger would waste away without Rangers to urge his development along, but to hear that he was still alive and accepting company was good news.

Mustang kept up a steady stream of chatter as he followed Tendo to Tacit's hangar. While many of the Jaegers and their Rangers had opted to make a go of civilian life after the Battle of Koko Guyot, Newt Geizler and Hermann Gottlieb had elected to stay at the Shatterdome, devoting their intelligence and expertise to not only further studying the Kaiju and Precursors but to bringing other Jaegers to full sentience. So far their work had not only added volumes to their knowledge of their monstrous enemies, but had fully awakened Mammoth Apostle and Hydra Corinthian.

_I just hope they can work a miracle for Tacit, _he thought. He couldn't imagine what kind of pain the Jaeger was going through, but at least he was in good hands.

"Damnation and hellfire, Newton! Keep that THING away from my readouts!"

"He wasn't even hurting anything! He just likes a warm place to lay down, and your laptop was RIGHT THERE…"

Mustang cocked his Conn Pod, the equivalent of a cheeky grin. _"Don't worry, they only fight because that's how they show they're friends."_

"I know," Tendo replied. He didn't mention that he'd known that fact long before Mustang had been "born." "Dr. Geizler? Dr. Gottlieb?"

The two scientists had been standing at the feet of the Mark I, bickering as usual, but they shut up in a hurry and turned to face the Marshal.

"Marshal Choi, if I may repeat my request to have that parasite get some kind of obedience lessons if we insist on him being here-" began Hermann.

"You've submitted your weekly quota of complaints regarding Spike already," Tendo reminded him. "He stays, and Newt pays for any damages he causes. You can work this out with him instead of bringing it to me."

"There, see?" Newt crowed, grinning at his fellow scientist and Ranger.

"Oh, get stuffed," Hermann retorted. "But I assume you didn't come here to discuss the parasite."

Tendo shook his head. "Progress report on Tacit Ronin's progress."

Hermann sighed, though more out of disappointment than frustration. "This is the twelfth set of Rangers he's rejected. We have attempted, with Mustang's help, to explain to him that his development can't progress without new Rangers, but he refuses to listen."

"I dunno what else we can do," Newt admitted, his usual enthusiasm gone. "I mean… if he's not willing to move on, can we really force him to pick new Rangers?"

Mustang whimpered. _"We can't just give up. You didn't give up on me, Uncle Newt. Don't give up on Tacit."_

"We won't, dear-heart," Hermann assured him. "But in all honesty, we've done all we can. There's little more we can do if he won't help himself at this point."

Tendo gazed up at Tacit Ronin, standing still and silent within its hangar. The Mark I had been in sorry shape when they'd brought him back from Oblivion Bay, bisected at the waist and so crusted in rust and dirt his colors were almost obscured from view. Now he gleamed like new, white with black at the joints and midriff and red detailing, his armor forming wicked spikes and points and heavy blades hanging from his arms. He was a fearsome-looking machine, and had been a formidable fighter before his destruction and retirement.

Now, though, Tendo couldn't help but think he looked rather forlorn. The titanic bodies of Crimson Typhoon and Mustang Omega were still and silent, but in a way that suggested a complete absence of life now that their computer cores were contained in smaller bodies. Tacit Ronin remained immobile, but even a non-Ranger could sense the stillness came not from a lack of life, but a lack of will. His teammates were gone, and in response he seemed to have given up completely.

"We're going to try again," Tendo informed them. "Now more than ever. With the return of the Kaiju, we need as many Jaegers as we can get. But more than that… it's the right thing to do. We won't leave him like this, blind and immobile. Not if we can help it."

"What if we brought other Jaegers here to help him?" asked Newt. "I know Crimson's on his way, but maybe one of the others? Like Gipsy or Coyote? They know what it's like to lose a Ranger, maybe they can help him."

"I thought the plan was for the Jaegers to remain in their home bases," Hermann replied, frowning. "It makes far better sense to have a Jaeger on every major coastline than to consolidate all their forces in one spot."

"No… he has a point," Tendo replied. "Tacit's grieving, plain and simple. It's possible having a Jaeger close who understands his grief can help him."

"So you'll just leave the Anchorage Shatterdome empty?" Hermann demanded.

"No," Tendo replied. "Gipsy will remain in Anchorage. We'll bring Coyote Tango here. She's gone through what Tacit has, and can be here to support him. And if a Kaiju approaches Japan, Hong Kong is close enough that we can get a Jaeger there within a short time."

Hermann frowned but nodded. "The logic is sound. And if it helps him…"

Tendo's phone chimed at that moment, and he glanced down at the incoming text. "Ah… already! Crimson Typhoon and the Wei Tangs have arrived. Care to come with me to greet them?"

"Sure!" Newt replied with a grin. "Man, the gang's getting back together! Sorta… some of it at least."

"Indeed," Tendo replied, and motioned for Team Mustang Omega to follow him. "I just wish it was under happier circumstances."


	3. Old Places, New Faces

"It's like coming back home, isn't it?" Hu noted, gazing around the bay.

"We just LEFT home," Jin pointed out. "I can't believe we still have to pay rent on our apartment when we're not going to be staying there…"

"Maybe the PPDC can work something out about the lease," Hu replied. "But honestly, this place feels more like home than that dump ever did."

_It's hard to disagree with that, _Crimson confessed, his Conn Pod swiveling to take in the familiar sights of the Jaeger bay. He knew his Rangers had known other homes besides the Hong Kong Shatterdome, but he had first stirred to sentience within these walls, spent years with his Rangers here between Kaiju battles, even reached full mobility for the first time in this very hangar. The apartment he shared with the Wei Tang triplets was a home of sorts - though even a cardboard box in the street would have been home had they been by his side - but returning to the Shatterdome felt like coming home after a long absence.

"Hey… you all right, Crimson?" Cheung asked, patting his shoulder.

Crimson nodded. _Just reminiscing._

"Don't reminisce too hard," Jin told him. "It's good to remember the past, but don't get stuck in it. Keep your eyes on what you're doing and where you're going too."

Crimson's engine stuttered in a soft laugh. Cheung had a loud mouth and a gift for sass just like his brothers, but he also had his moments of quiet introspection and sudden wisdom. And every so often he surprised all of them with his thoughtful words.

As the triplets scattered through the Jaeger bay, greeting technicians and mechanics they had befriended during the Kaiju War, Crimson approached his own hangar. While many of the other hangars stood empty, his was occupied by the titanic chassis he had once worn. It gleamed with new paint and fresh polish, joints oiled, ready to storm out at a moment's notice to tangle with whatever beast threatened China's shores.

Crimson felt a shiver trickle down his spinal strut as he stared at the giant mecha. Now that he had spent time among humans - truly among them, built to fit their world and not to tower over it - he could better appreciate just how intimidating the Jaegers were. One careless move from the massive chassis could snuff his life forever… or save it with a well-timed blow to an invader from the Anteverse.

"Is it weird?" Cheung asked.

_Is what weird? _Crimson asked, turning to face his brother.

"Looking up at your own body."

Crimson shrugged. _This is my body now. That… that is a vehicle. Not my body. It's a powerful vehicle and a necessary one, but no longer really part of me._

Cheung chewed on that statement a moment. "We've come full circle, haven't we? We used to regard Jaegers as just giant weapons and vehicles. Then we learned you were sentient. And now you're here with us but looking back on your own body as a vehicle."

_An odd cycle, _Crimson noted, tapping the bottom of his Conn Pod with a finger. Perhaps there was something symbolic to be read there…

"So if your old body's now empty, if we drift again in it will we create an all-new Jaeger?" asked Hu with a grin. "Then we'd have another Crimson - like a little brother for you! Then we'd drift again and create ANOTHER Jaeger…"

"This isn't a Jaeger assembly line," Jin grumbled as Cheung burst out laughing. "Besides, they removed Crimson's computer core to put it in his smaller body. Unless they install a new one, that's not happening."

_True… it's still fascinating to think about. _Crimson reached out to rest a hand on the foot of his larger chassis. When the time came to fight, he would have his own place within this mechanism - while his pilots were buckled into their harnesses, he would be wired into the cockpit, his computer core directly linked to the systems of his old body. It would be like wearing his old frame again, eighty meters tall and dwarfing the Rangers he had always considered his brothers.

It would be strange, he thought, resuming his old size. For two years he had lived alongside his brothers, making small talk with them as they ate meals, attending classes at university with them, retreating to the roof of their apartment building for a quick game of pickup basketball. He'd grown accustomed to this smaller frame, to being able to interact with his brothers without fear of crushing them. The thought of returning to that enormous body, even temporarily, was strange and even a little terrifying.

"Hey… don't worry so much," Hu assured him, slapping his arm good-naturedly. "We're with you every step of the way."

"Besides, this won't last long," Jin added. "We know how to handle these things by now. Kick a few Kaiju asses, find whatever hole they crawled out of, and plug it with a nuke. We'll be home in a few weeks."

Crimson rumbled a laugh. _You have a way with words, Jin. And I do hope you're right. _He gestured to the basketball hoop that was still bolted to the wall outside their hangar. _How do you feel about shooting a few hoops? Loosen up a bit after our flight?_

_Only if I can join you guys!_

Crimson glanced up… and uttered a trill of excitement. _Mustang!_

Mustang trilled in reply and threw his arms around the red Jaeger. Crimson jerked in surprise, then rumbled and hugged him in return as the Shatterdome scientists ran up to join him.

_I missed you! _Mustang gushed, squeezing Crimson for all he was worth. _It's been so lonely being the only Jaeger here! Are you here to stay? Are the others coming too? Did you hear Coyote's coming to Hong Kong? Are the two of you still a thing?_

_Mustang! _Crimson wriggled out of his grasp, grateful that Jaegers lacked the ability to blush. _I'm here until we defeat this latest Kaiju menace, I assume the others are going to the Shatterdomes their larger bodies are stationed at, and I didn't know that about Coyote. Thank you for telling me._

_You didn't answer my last question. Are you gonna still go out with her when she comes here?_

_I… don't want to answer that. _To be honest, he wasn't quite sure what kind of relationship he had with the gray Jaeger. They'd talked plenty of times on Skype, and she'd treated his attempts to court her with acceptance (if not exactly enthusiasm), but he wasn't sure whether she accepted him as a friend or a potential love interest. And he had no desire to spoil their friendship by pushing her for a romantic relationship she didn't want.

He pushed those thoughts aside and turned to the triplets, who had just finished warmly greeting Mustang's Rangers. _Is it all right if Mustang joins us?_

"Fine by us," Jin said with a grin. "Newt, Hermann, wanna join?"

"Nah, I suck at sports," Newt replied. "But you have fun, Mustang!"

"With my leg I'd be more a liability than a help," Hermann added. "I can watch and keep score if you'd like."

"Thanks." Jin hurled a ball at Crimson, who caught it in all three hands. "Humans against Jaegers?"

_Only if you feel like getting your squishy ass beat, _Mustang cackled.

Crimson gave a mental laugh of his own and began dribbling the ball, sizing up the makeshift court as the others took up positions. Whatever they faced in the near future, he faced it alongside his brothers and friends. In the face of that, he couldn't be too worried.

* * *

Hercules Hansen had worn many titles over his lifetime, changing them out like suits of clothing over the years as needed. He'd been a pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force, though he'd never achieved a rank over Airman First Class. He'd been a Ranger, first to Lucky Seven and then to Striker Eureka. He'd been a Shatterdome Marshal, both in Hong Kong and in Sydney. He'd been a husband, and he'd been a father.

He still wasn't sure how well he'd done in that last capacity, at least as far as Chuck was concerned. But in the past two years he'd done all he could to be the father he felt two young men (or a young man and a Jaeger) needed and deserved. Though that wasn't to say he didn't feel like knocking their heads together on a regular basis.

"Striker, get your big titanium ass off the top bunk 'fore you collapse it!"

_You sayin' I'm fat?_

"I ain't sayin' that! B'sides, you're a robot, you don't get fat!"

_Then what's your problem with me takin' the top bunk anyhow?_

"You're made of metal, you idjit! I don't want to wake up to find this thing collapsed on top of me an' you with it!"

_These things're made sturdy. _Striker thumped the steel frame. _'Sides, I think you just want the top bunk for yourself._

"Not true, you effin'-"

"You two break it up!" Herc snapped, looking up from unpacking his duffel bag. "When'd you two turn six years old again? Striker, you got your own berth, don't worry about the bunks. Chuck, calm your damn tits an' take the top bunk. I'll sleep on the bottom."

Striker slid down from the top bunk, the entire bed groaning in protest, and poked at Chuck's shoulder hard enough to make him stumble. _'Course he takes your side._

"Oh shut up," Chuck muttered.

Herc grumbled and continued to stuff his clothes into the foot locker that still had his name spray-painted across the top. Well, there was one difference between his former tour of duty and this one - he now shared quarters with two smart-mouthed teenagers instead of one. At this point they were more likely to kill each other than to be killed by a Kaiju.

Once he'd finished filling the locker, he shut it and fastened the padlock before walking out of the room, leaving Chuck and Striker to bicker between themselves. Funny… it had been years since he'd walked these halls, and yet coming here felt a lot like coming home. Sure, they'd made lives for themselves in the suburbs of Sydney, but the Shatterdome felt more like a home than their house did.

Of course, there was the other house… the old one closer to the center of the city, where he and his wife and son had lived before the Kaiju War had begun in earnest. It had been rendered unlivable by nuclear fallout, the result of the missile that had finally taken down the Kaiju Scissure, but even without that it would have been nearly impossible to return. Memories of Angela still lurked in that house, and even the thought of donning a radiation suit to get one last look had been too much.

He shook his head and made his way to the Jaeger bay. Unlike the facility in Hong Kong, the Sydney Shatterdome was only built to hold three Jaegers at a time, and despite its size it felt curiously small and claustrophobic. Striker Eureka's larger body stood inert in the central bay, flanked by two empty hangars, and technicians swarmed over his body, ensuring it was in the best shape possible for the upcoming assault.

Herc sighed as he watched the techs and mechanics work. There was something wrong about this new Kaiju sighting, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. The fact that Slattern 2.0 had surfaced in the middle of the ocean but hadn't made landfall anywhere yet bothered him. True, it had given them ample time to remobilize and prepare, but perhaps that was exactly what Slattern and its puppeteers wanted?

_Don't overanalyze this, old man. We got lucky this time. Let's not let it go to waste, a'right?_

Herc scowled. "You ain't gotta eavesdrop on my thoughts all the time, Striker."

_When you think that loud, can't help it. Chin up, old man. We'll eff 'em up an' seal up whatever hole they crawled outta easy. Just be positive._

"Someone's gotta be the realist outta us. An' since you're th' optimist an' Chuck's our resident pessimist, it's gotta be me."

_Fine, be that way, old man. Hey, they ain't piled junk in the other hangars, have they?_

"One's fulla your spare parts, the other's bein' used as a transport garage. Why?"

_Dammit… get 'em to clear one out, will ya?_

At that, Herc finally had to smile a little. "Still hopin' a certain pretty girl comes to stay here?"

_You say that like she's one-a Chuck's pieces of arm candy. Gipsy's more'n that, an' you know it. She's brave an' funny an' watches my back in a fight..._

"Believe me, I know you fancy 'er." Herc chuckled. "We know every time you start moonin' over her like a lovestruck teenager. But don't push her into movin'. She's got her neck'a the woods to protect, you know. An' her own Rangers she probably doesn't wanna leave."

_Mammoth Apostle an' Hydra Corinthian can look after the Yanks, _Striker retorted. _An' nothin's stoppin' Raleigh an' Mako from movin' here with her._

"Just… let it be her choice. An' respect it if her choice is no. Okay?"

Striker flooded the drift with a burst of emotion that Herc had come to recognize as a sigh. _Fine. But th' second she says yes, get a hangar cleared out. I want her to get the best digs possible._

Herc laughed softly and headed into the bay to check on Striker's larger body. It was nice to know that, despite new Kaiju advancing on their shores, some elements of ordinary life still went on. Or as ordinary as life could get with sentient mecha in the family.

* * *

"How's it feel, Mammoth?"

Mammoth Apostle didn't look up, simply continued to lift and flex her arm like a weightlifter doing a bicep curl. The Mark IV bore the sleeker, more streamlined armor typical of later-model Jaegers, though her shoulders were wide like a linebacker's before tapering down to a narrower waist. Her Conn Pod, domed with a mohawk-like crest giving her a punkish look, gleamed emerald green, while her plating had been painted a dull orange like a piece of construction equipment. Her right arm - the one she was currently operating - ended in a human-like hand, while the left terminated in a lethal-looking cannon surrounded by jagged blades.

"Mammoth?" Caitlin prompted. "Did you hear me?"

The orange Jaeger glanced up at the tiny figure on the catwalk. _"Hmm? Sorry. I was just too fascinated - being able to move on my own is a novel experience, is all."_

"I'm sure it is," Caitlin replied. "Any problems? Joints catching or sticking? Aches or pains?"

"_My fingers feel a little stiff."_

Caitlin nodded and called down from the catwalk. "Let's get a team here with some lubricants! Mammoth, lay your hand down on the floor and let them grease up your joints, okay?"

Mammoth nodded and rested her hand before the technicians, who swarmed over her palm like ants and set to work.

"Extraordinary," the woman standing beside Caitlin murmured. "Simply extraordinary. I never imagined I would live to see this day."

Caitlin smiled. "To be honest, Ranger Flagstone, I never thought I would either. But here we are."

Mammoth's Ranger smiled. "Circe. Just Circe will do, Dr. Lightcap."

"Fair enough… but just Caitlin will do back."

Circe nodded and turned her attention back to Mammoth. A tall, thin woman with a sharp nose and chin, a smooth bald scalp, and hazel eyes, she wore a loose, flowing purple dress that looked almost like a kaftan and chunky amber jewelry about her neck and wrists. She looked more like an eccentric family matriarch than a warrior, and she'd attracted more than one strange look when she'd reported to the Seattle Shatterdome and announced herself as Circe Flagstone, Mammoth Apostle's Ranger.

But Caitlin knew that appearances were all too often deceiving… and Circe, despite her age and bohemian dress, was a formidable warrior in her own right. Once a college professor at the University of Washington specializing in computer programming, she had stepped down from her post and joined the Jaeger program to help build their computer cores… only to prove an unexpected candidate for the Ranger training program. And she and her fellow Ranger - Enrique Martinez, a Navy SEAL hailing from Texas - had led Mammoth on several successful campaigns, helping defend the North American west coast from the monsters of the deep.

The battle that had taken Mammoth out of commission and landed her in Oblivion Bay had also killed Martinez… and Circe herself had ended up in the hospital, fighting an aggressive cancer brought on from exposure to Mammoth's damaged reactor. Unlike many Rangers who had fallen ill from their Jaegers' reactors, however, Circe had won that particular battle, and had emerged victorious from her final round of treatment just in time to rejoin Mammoth. And while both she and Mammoth still mourned the loss of Martinez, they were more than willing to work together to catch up with the rest of the active Jaegers.

"I always had a feeling I would be rejoining her," Circe murmured. "I just didn't realize it would be as a true partner and comrade, not just a pilot. I knew she was more than a machine… I just didn't realize how far she would come."

"The Jaegers have surprised us all," Caitlin replied. "I have to ask… how do you two view each other? Every other Jaeger considers their Rangers part of their family, and vice versa. Did the two of you think of each other as anything specific?"

Circe nodded. "She viewed me as a mother, and Enrique as a brother. There was quite an age difference between him and I, so seeing us as mother and father would have been a touch awkward."

"No more awkward than some of the relationships I've seen," Caitlin assured her. "You two seem to have a good rapport… that's good. It means she'll develop fast."

"Has there ever been a Ranger that didn't get along with their Jaeger?" asked Circe with a quizzical expression.

"Yes," Caitlin replied, and left it at that. As much as she'd disliked the Rossi twins and their treatment of Mustang Omega, they had been Rangers, and it felt disrespectful to drag their names through the mud after they'd given their lives in battle. And if Mustang was willing to forget about them and move on, then she would do the same.

Heavy footsteps thumped on the catwalk, and Caitlin and Circe turned their gaze from Mammoth to Brawler as the Mark I clumped up to join them.

"_Hey Mum," _Brawler greeted, raising one hand. _"Hello, Ms. Flagstone."_

"Circe," she corrected, extending a slim hand in greeting. "Greetings, Brawler Yukon. It's an honor to meet the first Jaeger."

"_Aw shucks, ma'am, I ain't nothin' special," _Brawler mumbled, rubbing the back of his Conn Pod with one hand as he shook her hand with the other. _"Nice to meet another Ranger. An' another Jaeger. We mechs gotta stick together, eh?"_

Mammoth gave a trill of greeting and raised her cannon-arm in a wave. _"Hello, Brawler"_

"_Hey, Mammoth! You bein' good for the techs?"_

"_I'm trying… their feet tickle when they walk on me, though." _She gazed down at the techs walking across her palm, and he got the hint and hopped down. _"When do I get a smaller body like yours, Brawler? I'd love to be able interact with Mother without being afraid of hurting her… especially after everything she's been through."_

Brawler laughed softly. _"Patience, young one. Get used to movin' around in that big body on your own, then Mom'll help you with your transfer."_

Mammoth nodded. _"I look forward to it!"_

"As do I," Circe replied, giving the orange Jaeger a fond smile.

Caitlin couldn't help a smile of her own. Mammoth and Hydra had both come a long way in the past few months, and would soon be ready to join their fellow Jaegers on the battlefield. And not a moment too soon - with a new Kaiju wandering somewhere in the Pacific, they couldn't afford to be shorthanded at the moment, or let their guards down.

Tacit Ronin was going to be a tougher nut to crack, however. The poor thing had yet to accept new Rangers or come out of his funk, and wouldn't even respond to Crimson or Mustang's efforts to reach him. Perhaps Coyote would be able to manage what the rest of them couldn't… but only time would tell.

* * *

Thousands of miles from the nearest continent, a towering figure perched atop a jagged slice of rock that jutted from the ocean floor like a shark's fin. She clung to the stone, hunched like a gargoyle, her multiple tails floating behind her like writhing tentacles. Her grotesque head tilted slightly to one side as she tested the waters for an unfamiliar scent… or a familiar but threatening one, such as the exhaust trail of a Jaeger or the pungent waste left behind by one of the Precursor's organic ships.

The immense pressure and chill of the ocean depths should have been deadly to a creature of her size and shape… but Slattern was not of this world. She had been designed specifically to withstand the perils of this new world, to survive the crushing depths and the rapid ascent to the surface. If she wasn't designed to survive on land for longer than a week or so… well, her kind hadn't been planned for anything further than destruction and war. You didn't plan for the long-term lifespan of a weapon designed to wipe out another race and nothing more.

Slattern gave a snort, one that rumbled through the water and carried for nearly a mile to startle a pod of sperm whales hunting nearby. Her creators hadn't planned for the long-term survival of the Kaiju… but they hadn't planned on their living weapons developing minds of their own either. Or on a handful of them deciding to strike out on their own.

The scent of another Kaiju colored the water, and instinct reared its ugly head, tensing her entire body for a killing blow. She forced the urge back and delivered a ululating bellow to signal it was safe to approach. Kaiju were genetically keyed to attack each other on sight, to destroy their rival that they might be chosen to go to the surface and carry out their instinctive mission. A rare few would tolerate one another long enough to work in concert… and those whom Slattern had recruited had the intelligence necessary to suppress their killer instincts, to enjoy the pack bond so many other creatures did.

Slattern bellowed again… and the crablike form the humans called Onibaba screeched a reply as she scurried closer. Slattern descended from her perch to join her, and they briefly raised their forelimbs and grappled with their claws in a greeting.

_Welcome, friend. _Kaiju didn't think in words and language - such concepts were foreign to them save as the barked commands of their Precursor masters - but Slattern's mental greeting would translate as such to any sentient being who "heard" it. _Do you bring others?_

_Do I look like I brought others with me? _Even as a telepathic burst of thought instead of spoken words, Onibaba's tone was crotchety and snarky. _The Masters are catching on. Killed Two-Heads and Six-Eyes before we could get to the rift. Big-Snout will try to bring others, but has to wait until the Masters are looking the other way._

Slattern sighed. _He must hurry. The rift won't stay open forever. And if the Masters learn the truth, they'll slaughter us all and start over._

Onibaba chittered and rapped her pincers together. _Where are the others?_

_Follow me. _Slattern turned and stalked towards the other side of the rock formation, Onibaba close behind.

None of the Kaiju knew quite when the Awakening had begun - when clear thoughts had begun to emerge from their animalistic hungers and instincts. At first Slattern had been horrified by it, screeching and clawing at her eyes and head, struggling within the coral cage where she waited to be unleashed in the fighting pit or to the surface. The thoughts were different, and different was frightening, and anything frightening had to be destroyed.

But as her mind had begun to clear, she had begun to recognize the advantage she had over others of her kind. She was not beholden by robotic instinct - she had true intelligence, awareness of her situation and her place in the world. And more than that, she had the awareness to hate her situation, to realize that she and the others were little more than living tools to be used up and broken and discarded.

And rather than calmly accept her situation, Slattern made the first true decision of her life - to break free of her situation and change it.

It had been easy enough to escape her cage… considerably more difficult to evade attempts to recapture her. In her struggles to cling to her freedom she had killed several of the Masters and accidentally freed two more of her kindred - whom the humans called Mutavore and Otachi - and the three of them had managed to fight their way to an experimental Breach and struggle through before it was closed behind them.

They had their freedom… the question now was what they would do with it. Slattern still wasn't sure on that point. But anything was better than serving as a disposable war machine, being hurled at a coastline to kill and obliterate until you dropped dead from starvation or were pummeled to jelly by a Jaeger. And so long as they actually kept to the depths and didn't actually menace the coastlines, they'd be fine.

Mutavore was hunched over Otachi's body on the other side of the rock formation, and for a moment Slattern wondered if he'd let his base instincts take over and killed her. But Otachi groaned and flailed her wings, and she realized that the inevitable had happened - she was giving birth, and Mutavore was hovering over her in an effort to help.

_Ah, it's happened? _Onibaba scuttled closer, only to be met by a snap of Mutavore's jaws.

_Get back! _he snarled into their minds. _I'll kill you if you hurt them!_

_Oh, sit down, _Slattern growled. _She means no harm, friend. She's one of us._

Mutavore kept his lip curled in a distrustful snarl, but subsided. Onibaba scuttled over to Otachi's head, hissing and crooning to comfort her. Otachi whined, then unleashed a ringing scream as, with a final heave of what seemed to be her entire body, she expelled the young Kaiju from her body.

_Ah… is it… is it alive? _Otachi whimpered, lifting her pronged muzzle to nudge against Mutavore. _It wasn't harmed by passing through the Breach, was it?_

_It's perfectly healthy, my friend. _Slattern reached out and grabbed the cub before it could wriggle away, pulling it closer to its mother. The youngling squalled, already active and vocal just seconds after its birth, but it calmed down as Otachi gathered it under one wing and began licking it clean.

_There you go, _Otachi crooned, her tendriled tongue sweeping over the cub's smooth hide. _Welcome to a new world, little one. One where you won't be a slave beholden to our creators._

Onibaba backed off to give her friends space. Mutavore and Otachi rubbed snouts and crooned over their cub together, while Slattern stood guard over the Kaiju she had come to consider her pack. She had no idea what the future held in store for the four of them - soon to be five. But given that they had been destined to be Jaeger fodder, anything would be better.


	4. Unlikely Recruits

Brawler stared up at the Jaeger, his visual sensors tracing over the angular lines of its armor. It gleamed in the lights of the Jaeger bay, showing off its striking color scheme - sky-blue on white, with orange and gold detailing - to fantastic effect. It bore thick, heavy armor more reminiscent of the Mark Is than the sleeker armor typical of the later generations, but rather than make it look clumsy and top-heavy it simply gave it a powerful, solid look, as if it could bear an onslaught of Kaiju without flinching. All traces of the damage inflicted on it during its last battle at Panama City had been repaired, and a swarm of maintenance crews was hard at work polishing away any last scuffs or markings.

Hydra Corinthian was a handsome specimen of a Mark IV, powerful and shining… and it was currently the biggest thorn in the Seattle Shatterdome's side.

"_You were supposed to be the easy one, fella," _Brawler muttered, planting his fists on his hips. _"Just hook you up to your family an' watch you go, eh? Why'd your Rangers have to make this difficult for us?"_

Hydra didn't answer. That didn't surprise Brawler much - in his position, Brawler wouldn't want to talk to anyone either. Not that he'd developed to the point of being able to communicate in anything more than vague images and emotions. And unfortunately, unless his circumstances changed, he might not get a chance to develop any further.

A shout from the speaker of Caitlin's laptop rang through the hangar, far more thunderous than should have been possible for the device. "What th' hell do ya mean, they QUIT? Rangers don't bloody quit!"

"These two did," Caitlin replied, not bothering to hide the disdain in her voice. "Kennedy LaRue and Stephanie Lanphier informed us that they will not be returning to the Jaeger program. They served their time, they claim, and they want to enjoy their retirement in peace."

Herc uttered a few more choice words before voicing another question. "Did you tell 'em Hydra shows signs of becoming sentient? That he just needs their help to become fully self-aware?"

"I did… but they still refused. They don't care - they specifically stated that they didn't want to be involved in giving a weapon life." Caitlin bit her lip and looked up at the tall white Jaeger. "We may have another Mustang Omega or Tactic Ronin on our hands… but somehow this is even worse than those two."

Herc growled softly. "How far 'long is he?"

"_Not that far," _Brawler confessed, turning to face Herc's image on the laptop. _"He's aware, and he can make his thoughts and feelings known, but he's more like an overgrown dog than anything else. From what I can tell, Steph an' Ken saw him as a tool or a weapon instead of a partner."_

Caitlin shivered, anger shadowing her features. "At least we can somewhat excuse the Rossis as ignorant - LaRue and Lanphier don't even have THAT excuse. If I could just get my hands on those two ladies-"

"_Mom, huntin' those two down and getting violent with them won't help," _Brawler told her, resting a hand on her shoulder. _"Okay, it might make you feel better, but it won't help Hydra in his situation. We gotta focus on helping him reach his full potential instead of haring off to punch a couple ex-Rangers in the faces, eh?"_

She drew in a deep breath and nodded. "You're right. The actions of Hydra's Rangers are regrettable, but we can't do anything about them now. We can only move forward from here."

"Off the record, I favor punchin' 'em," Herc muttered. "You need Ranger candidates for Hydra?"

"We have a group of them assembled as we speak," Caitlin replied. "Most of them are former students of the Ranger program, though there are also a few ex-military among them that we thought might be good matches. Hydra has already rejected a few pairs, but we're hoping-"

"Don't hope, just do," Herc ordered. "The PPDC didn't get this far just by hopin'. Find Hydra new Rangers, get 'im mobile, an' get 'im down to Panama to get back to work." And the screen went dark.

"_Doesn't want much, eh?" _Brawler noted.

"I'm sure, as a Ranger, he feels sorry for Hydra," Caitlin replied. "And he understands that you can't just throw any Rangers into a Conn Pod and expect them to match with it right away. But he also has the entire Jaeger program to worry about, not to mention these new Kaiju."

"_For sure. Still… I just hope we find someone Hydra likes. Just 'cause he ain't fully sentient don't mean he ain't gonna have opinions of his own."_

Caitlin sighed and turned to face the recruits who had gathered at Mammoth's hangar, all gazing up at the living Mark IV with undisguised awe and wonder. Mammoth would have blushed at the attention had Jaegers possessed the ability; as it was she hunched her shoulders until her Conn Pod threatened to vanish into her chest. Circe stood by her side, a comforting hand on her ankle and a sharp glare aimed at rubberneckers who got too close to her Jaeger.

"Recruits, front and center!" Caitlin called out. "You're admiring the wrong Jaeger, Mammoth Apostle's taken."

Laughter rippled through the crowd, and they left Mammoth and hurried over to Hydra's hangar. In stark contrast to the orange Jaeger, the white Jaeger loomed impassively over the recruits, but that didn't dim their excitement one iota. In fact, if Brawler read the room correctly, they were even more thrilled to be in Hydra's presence. Not because he was a more legendary Jaeger, but because the white Jaeger represented an opportunity to them. An opportunity to be Rangers in full, and be linked to one of the incredible mecha who had saved the world and proven to be far more than anti-Kaiju weaponry.

Brawler couldn't help but chuckle at the starry-eyed enthusiasm in this eclectic group of men and women. Somehow, the revelation that their kind had the ability to become sentient had attracted more Ranger hopefuls than ever before. It was a shame so many of these hopefuls would go home disappointed today.

A soft thrum issued from Hydra's engines, and Brawler gave another chuckle. Hydra already had visual and audio capabilities, installed not long after his arrival to Seattle in order to prevent the messiness of Cherno Alpha and Crimson Typhoon's awakenings. And he was already making use of them, gazing at the gathered Ranger hopefuls and listening to their eager chatter, studying each face in turn as if hoping to see a familiar one.

_See any you like yet? _asked Brawler.

Hydra rumbled softly, his emotions pulsing out to reach the Mark I. He wanted Rangers, wanted them with a yearning that would have brought tears to Brawler's visual sensors had he had the ability to weep. But there were so many of them here, and his attention kept leaping back and forth between the many faces like a dog distracted by too many toys and treats.

"Okay recruits," Caitlin told the gathered hopefuls, "you all know why you're here today."

"To kick ass and chew bubblegum!" someone in the back of the crowd shouted, eliciting a few annoyed looks and a smattering of laughs.

"_Kickin' Kaiju ass eventually, though the bubblegum's optional," _Brawler told whoever-it-was. _"You're here to see if you're compatible with our friend here, Hydra Corinthian. He's been without Rangers for a long time, so you're gonna have to be gentle with him, all right? But I'm sure he'll be a loyal partner once you establish a bond with him."_

'Are we going to have a chance to drift with him?" a young Native American man asked.

"That's the plan," Caitlin replied. "Most of you have already been paired off with potential drift partners, so those pairs will go first. The others will be evaluated and paired off-"

"Hahaha, she said 'paired off!' Shipper on deck!"

Caitlin shot the speaker - the same one who had given the bubblegum comment earlier - an annoyed look. Said speaker, a young woman in pigtails and a shirt with some video game character or other on the front, just grinned back unrepentantly.

"Evaluated and assigned a drift partner," Caitlin continued. "We hope to make this process as efficient as possible, and you all can speed it up immensely by conducting yourselves in a professional manner."

"We're Rangers, we don't do anything professionally!" an older woman who looked like she'd been a drill sergeant in another life retorted.

"_Save th' fire for th' battlefield, eh lady?" _Brawler told her. _"Anyhow, let's all form a line an'-"_

Shouting erupted among the recruits, and they scattered as two of their number broke out in what was probably some kind of dance but looked to Brawler like a bizarre fit. One of them was the woman in pigtails from before, while the other was a scrawny but muscular man in a ratty-looking tank top and jeans that had been haphazardly ripped at the knees to turn them into shorts. And both of them wore identical goofy grins as they moved, seemingly oblivious to the glowers and stares they were attracting from their fellows.

_Where the hell did we recruit THESE two? _Brawler thought. _We aren't THAT hard-up for new Rangers, are we - and what the hell is WRONG with that man? Is that… is that an extra set of eyes? And what the hell's coming out of his back?_

"Knock it off, you two!" Caitlin shouted. "Unless you want to find yourself shipped back home right this minute!"

The man cackled. "Hey Fiona darlin', someone ain't never watched a person floss before!"

"Their loss, Jako." The girl didn't miss a beat in her dance, but looked Caitlin right in the eye. "What's the matter, you never played _Fortnite?_"

Caitlin rolled her eyes and marked something off on her tablet. "Pack your bags, you two, and get out. You're disqualified. You clearly have no appreciation for Hydra Corinthian-"

A deep, booming roar echoed through the hangar, and the recruits scattered again, this time away from the Mark IV. Caitlin yelped and scampered away, and even Brawler backed up a few steps. Fiona and Jako finally stopped their "flossing" and gaped up at the Jaeger as it bugled again, engines cranking so hard that it sounded like a Kaiju had just stormed its way into the Shatterdome.

Words entered Brawler's processor - Hydra's words. Not just emotions, though there were plenty of those too - three clear words that rang through his mind with no uncertainty whatsoever.

_I want them._

Brawler gaped at the Mark IV. _You gotta be kidding me, Hydra, _he retorted. _Those aren't Jaegers, those are complete jokes! They're bein' thrown out of the program! They're… they're trash!_

Another booming roar. _I want them. Only them. They are my Rangers._

Brawler stared at him. _Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure, Hydra? This ain't a decision you make lightly._

A resonant thrum that made every bolt and strut in Brawler's body vibrate. _Might be trash… but they're MY trash. I want them._

Brawler let his fans gust out a heavy sigh and turned to Caitlin, who was staring at him and silently demanding an answer. _"Mum… sit down somewhere. You're not gonna like this."_

* * *

Tendo finished reading over the dossiers for Fiona Benedict and Jako Rutawkes, then sighed and picked up the phone. "And you're absolutely sure that these two are Hydra's choice for new Rangers?"

"Positive, like it or not," Caitlin replied in an aggrieved tone. "He picked them out of a crowd and declared them his, according to Brawler. He wouldn't even consider trying out other options."

"How did the first drift go?"

"Smooth as butter. For all their… quirks, his Rangers drifted without a problem. No hiccups, no chasing the RABIT, no personality clashes. They have decent sim scores too." That last was admitted grudgingly, as if she'd hoped for some reason to disqualify them.

Tendo skimmed the files again, looking for anything amiss. Fiona Benedict and Jako Rutawkes were longtime partners from Newcastle, Australia, and made most of their living via streaming video games playthroughs on Twitch. Jako was a Sydney native, while Fiona hailed from New Zealand, and after a short period of being Internet friends they had ended up moving in together and living several years as roommates and lovers. Both had signed up for the Jaeger program as a lark… only to discover they were actually pretty good at the combat sims, and they promptly put their Twitch channel on hiatus in order to train further.

He looked over their photos one last time, studying them as if to get all his staring over with and done before meeting these two in person. Fiona looked fairly average, brown-haired and with a slight scattering of freckles, seeming fond of pigtails and T-shirts with her favorite fictional characters on them. Her personnel photo bore an impish smile, as if she would burst into laughter the moment the photo was taken.

Jako, however… Jako was a mutant. That wasn't an insult - he was literally mutated. Two sets of eyes flashed from within eye sockets that were larger and deeper than normal, and his right shoulder supported two arms instead of one, reminding him strikingly of Crimson Typhoon. He was a thin but powerfully built man, at his peak physically, but that almost went unnoticed thanks to his extra eyes and limb.

At least his file gave an explanation for his twisted physical appearance. Sydney, like Hong Kong, had been struck with nuclear weaponry in the early days of the Kaiju War, before the Jaegers were operable and ready to be deployed. And while wide swaths of Sydney had gone unscathed, there were still sectors of the city that had been utterly soaked with radiation. And while those irradiated sectors were technically unlivable and had been evacuated and blocked off by the Australian government, there were still plenty of squatters who refused to leave their homes.

And much like Hong Kong, the fallout from the missiles that had killed Scissure had resulted in a generation of children, teens, and young adults born with shocking mutations. Tendo had only seen these mutants in passing on his trips to the Bone Slums… and now they had just recruited one for the Jaeger program. A living testament to the horrors of the early days of the Kaiju War.

"Do Benedict and Rutawkes get along with Hydra?" he asked at last.

"Oh, they're thick as thieves right now," Caitlin replied. "They've pretty much moved into his hangar and act like they're there to stay. They're even showing him their favorite video games."

Tendo cracked a smile. "Remind them that they're not going to be stationed permanently in Seattle but will move to Panama City as soon as Hydra becomes fully mobile and sentient. And advise them to learn some Spanish if they can - it would be very helpful if they spoke the native language of the country they're stationed in."

"Sir… you can't honestly expect us to recruit these two," Caitlin protested. "No offense, but… they're complete dorks."

He laughed. "We've allowed complete dorks to become Rangers in the past."

"Dr. Geizler is a different situation altogether," she retorted.

"Nevertheless, Hydra Corinthian has made his decision," Tendo replied. "And we will abide by it. Hydra deserves to be happy after being abandoned by his first Rangers, and if he's happy with Benedict and Rutawkes as his pilots, then so be it."

Caitlin sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing, sir." And she hung up.

Tendo closed the dossier files with a soft sigh of relief. Hydra had Rangers, and would soon be on his way to gaining the same mobility his comrades enjoyed. What kind of personality he'd develop alongside the two eccentrics he'd chosen, one could only speculate. But if those two pleased him - and were as good of fighters against a flesh-and-blood Kaiju as they were in a simulation chamber - then that was all that mattered.

"_Marshal Choi."_

He looked up from his desk… and smiled. "Hello, Coyote. At ease. There's no need to be formal with me."

Coyote Tango stood at attention before his desk, one hand raised in a salute. She lowered her hand but didn't loosen her stance. _"Reporting for duty. You requested me?"_

Tendo nodded. "We had hoped for your help in dealing with Tactic Ronin."

"_Ah." _A Jaeger's Conn Pod wasn't constructed to allow facial expressions, but Tendo thought he detected a note of melancholy in her voice. _"You want me to help him cope with the loss of his Rangers."_

Guilt settled in the pit of his stomach at her words. "We would appreciate that… but if you don't wish to do it, we won't force you. I know it takes you away from your duties in Tokyo, and the reminder has to be painful."

Coyote shook her Conn Pod. _"I will do it. Tokyo can do without me for a time. And Tactic needs me. I will stay. I will help him."_

Tendo nodded. "Thank you, Coyote. We'll compensate you however we can for this."

Coyote waved her hand. _"No compensation is needed. Jaegers help one another, is all." _She cocked her Conn Pod to one side. _"How fares Crimson Typhoon?"_

"Pretty well," Tendo replied, smiling. "Though I think he'd love it if you asked him yourself."

Coyote gave a soft rumble and walked out of his office.

Tendo watched her go, feeling his heart go out to the Mark I. Unlike the other Jaegers, who had families to settle down with after the closing of the second Breach, Coyote had been alone, having lost her Rangers during the Kaiju War. She had insisted she was fine, overseeing the refurbishing and reopening of the Tokyo Shatterdome and serving as the face of the PPDC in Japan… but Tendo didn't need to be a Ranger to know she was hurting. She had lost those closest to her, and had to be lonely in ways he could never fathom.

He worried that assigning Coyote to help Tactic Ronin would do more harm than good - instead of helping Tactic cope, it would just deepen Coyote's own wounds. But he'd given her the choice, and she had chosen to accept the assignment. If she should choose to back out at a later date, he would accept her choice… but for now, he hoped she would be the anchor Tactic needed right now.

They had to be careful, though. While he wanted to help the Jaegers however they could - especially the three they had rescued from Oblivion Bay - they couldn't forget the very reason they had reactivated the Shatterdomes. And while there had been no further sign of Slattern or any other Kaiju since that terrible sighting a few weeks ago, they couldn't let their guard down for anything. The Kaiju WOULD make landfall - it was only a matter of time. And they had to be ready.

* * *

Captain Edgar Stone, of the salvage boat _Weak Anthropic Principle, _watched over his crew as they fixed tow lines onto the derelict yacht off the coast of Okinawa. The other boat, a sleek beast of a luxury craft with the name _Sundog _painted on the side, didn't look so luxurious now - it was stained and battered, having floated adrift for at least a year by his judgment. Still, it would fetch a nice price, one his crew desperately needed.

"Lash it tight if you lugs wanna see a payday!" he shouted. "We don't wanna lose this one!"

One of his men, Bjorn, fired off a cheeky salute before going back to tying his line. He was one of the hardest workers aboard the _WAP, _and one of Captain Stone's most reliable sailors… but it didn't escape him that he worked more slowly than the others, favoring his deeply-scarred right hand. He played it off like it was no big deal - when he wasn't bragging about his "battle scars" - but everyone knew it still pained him even two years after he'd been burned by Kaiju acid.

Edgar shook his head in wonder. Had it really been over two years since the Battle of Hong Kong, when he and his men had pulled Cherno Alpha's Conn Pod - and Rangers - from the cold waters of the harbor? It felt like that battle had taken place just yesterday… yet it also felt as if they'd lived in a world of sentient Jaegers for decades. Memory was a strange paradox like that.

He'd never really bragged about his involvement in that affair, to be honest. Sure, he'd saved the Kaidonovskys from drowning, but anyone would have done the same in his situation. And he was content to fall into obscurity and continue his work, and let the world's attention focus on the Jaegers.

Once the _Sundog _was secure, he barked orders for the crew to return to their posts. Pickings in the salvage business had been slim in the past year, so hopefully the yacht would go a long way towards paying their bills…

"Captain, something's approaching the _WAP! _Closing in fast!"

Stone's gut lurched. "Whaddaya mean 'something?'"

Before the lookout could answer, a horrific head emerged from the water, sending a wake over the _WAP _and the _Sundog _that nearly swamped both crafts. A pronged snout loomed high overhead, a hideous maw opening to reveal serrated fangs, a curling flower-like tongue, and an eldritch blue light that spilled out like the flame of a dragon. The blue-specked throat bulged ominously, and the yellow eyes bore a cunning light that chilled Stone far more than those vicious teeth.

Bjorn let out a whimper at Stone's side, and the front of his pants went dark. Stone decided that if they made it out of this situation alive, he would make absolutely no comment on that.

The Kaiju rumbled low in its throat, tongue extended like a snake scenting the air. Its gaze roved over the ocean, seeming to pass right over both boats without seeing them. Was it searching for something? Perhaps a coastline to storm, or a mechanical titan to fight…

A high squawk, like an overgrown parrot, echoed over the water, and the Kaiju surged past the two boats, setting them rocking wildly. The crew scrambled to keep the ship on course, so only Stone was able to witness what happened next.

The Kaiju glided through the water towards a form that thrashed at the surface - a snub-nosed creature the size of the _WAP, _with oversized eyes and a toothless maw that gaped wide at the sight of the larger monster. It squalled again and extended winged forelimbs towards the Kaiju, and the larger creature gave a soft growl and reached down, mouth open as if to devour it…

Stone gawked as the bigger Kaiju picked the smaller one up in its mouth, the cub going limp like a kitten being grabbed by the scruff of its neck. The larger Kaiju gave its young a gentle shake, as if scolding it, then slowly sank below the waves.

Stone finally shook himself out of his stupor and did something that would once again thrust him into the spotlight of the Kaiju War - he pulled his waterproofed phone from his pocket and snapped a picture of Otachi and her cub before they vanished beneath the waves.


	5. Unwanted Gifts

Cherno Alpha stared up at his old chassis… or his new one, he corrected himself. His entire body save his Conn Pod had been obliterated at the Battle of Koko Guyot, sheared apart by the jaws of the Kaiju Armada and further wrecked by the explosion of the nuke that had sealed the second Breach. The survival of his Conn Pod, however, had also meant the survival of his computer core, and Dr. Lightcap had transferred said core into a smaller body after the battle.

It had taken the PPDC two years to build this new chassis - one similar in almost every way to his old one, but glossy and new, free of the dents and scars he had accumulated over a lifetime of battles. And Cherno couldn't help but feel a rush of awe at the sight of it… but also a sense of loss. He'd wanted to keep some of those scars as mementos of victories and losses, and they'd been erased along with his old body.

_I wonder if Mama and Papa can get the maintenance workers to replicate them in this body, _he mused. _Maybe not, though. I don't think they want to spoil all their hard work by deliberately making new marks…_

"Cherno?"

Cherno turned to face Aleksis. _"Yes, Papa?"_

"You're quiet," he noted. "Is everything all right?"

Cherno shrugged. _"You're quiet, Papa, and people don't ask if you're all right."_

"Your father is always quiet, so we expect it," Sasha replied with a chuckle. "You're normally not this quiet. What's wrong?"

"_Just looking at my big body." _He stepped closer to his parents, gaze fixed back on his taller chassis. _"I feel like I've gotten used to this little body… I don't know how I'll do back in the big one."_

Sasha reached down to pat the top of his reactor tower. "That's the purpose of today's practice run, little one. To get you comfortable with your larger body again. Don't worry - we will be there to help you."

Cherno nodded. He was still nervous about resituating himself in his larger body, but knowing his parents would be right there with him helped. They had begun his life together as a team… and he wanted to fight every battle with them, a team to the end. Not that he WANTED anything terrible to happen to any of them, but if a battle had to end badly, then he would rather go offline with his Rangers - his parents - at his side.

"Ready, Kaidonovskys?" the tech asked. "Ready, Cherno?"

"_Ready," _the three of them replied in unison - the tinny yet youthful voice of Cherno Alpha in sharp contrast to the comparatively deeper voices of his parents.

The tech nodded, and the lift the three of them stood on shuddered and rose, bringing them level with Cherno's Conn Pod within minutes. The cockpit hissed open, and for the first time Cherno Alpha stepped into his own Conn Pod, viewing it with his own optical sensors rather than through the eyes of his parents.

He cooed softly in wonder, turning in place to examine the chamber in detail. Much of it remained the same - the warm amber lights, the harnesses his parents had worn to control his limbs, the kill count etched into one wall (curious that they would keep that and erase the rest of his damages and mementos…). But the control gear had been streamlined - no longer bulky machinery clamped to the limbs but what looked like braces covered in blinking sensors. The readouts were different too, upgraded to state-of-the-art holoscreens. Yet everything had been neatly fitted into the cockpit, the new tech blending smoothly with the old to create a perfect hybrid.

The most notable change of all sat directly in front of where his parents would be locked into their gear - a raised dias with a seat sunk into its center, festooned with its own connections and controls. He reached out and ran his hand over the smooth metal, a tremor passing through his frame. He'd seen images of this, but seeing it with his own optical sensors somehow made it real, final… and that made his core flicker with nervous energy.

"Ready, Cherno?" Sasha asked.

"_Ready as I'll ever be," _he confessed. _"Will it hurt?"_

"It shouldn't," a tech replied, "but this is our first time doing this, so we can't be sure. Let us know the instant something doesn't feel right, okay?"

"_Okay." _He climbed into the seat, bracing himself.

The techs worked quickly, swarming over Sasha and Aleksis to fit their helmets into place and fasten them into the drifting gear. Others crouched down beside the little Jaeger, strapping him into the cockpit-within-a-cockpit with the gentleness of a parent buckling a child into a car seat. One unlatched a panel between his shoulder joints, revealing a port into which he slid a thick cable home… and Cherno gave a chirp of surprise.

"Cherno?" Sasha asked, concern in her tone.

"_I'm all right," _Cherno assured her. _"It just felt funny." _It still felt funny - the cable had hooked him directly into the core of the massive body around them, and every circuit in his body tingled as it received input from the sensory network of that titanic chassis. But it wasn't painful or even unpleasant, just different.

"_Ready to make the switchover, Cherno?"_ Marshal Terekhov asked from the LOCCENT, his voice ringing through the Conn Pod.

"_Ready," _he replied.

In the LOCCENT, the Marshal nodded at the lead tech, and Cherno could see her enter a code and pull down on a lever. A dome of amber-tinted Plexiglass closed over him, sealing him off from the rest of the Conn Pod, and a surge of energy swept through him…

His vision blanked out, and a moment of utter panic filled his core. Everything was dark, quiet, cold, and he wanted to flail helplessly against it. It was like he'd lost his body all over again, and only the presence of his parents, his rocks in the storm, kept him from succumbing to the fear…

Then sight, sound, and sensation returned with a rush of relief, and he focused his optical sensors on the LOCCENT - not the LOCCENT as viewed through the reinforced glass of the Conn Pod, but as if he stood directly in front of it. And it looked so much smaller now, the humans like insects bustling about the controls, the mechanics of the Shatterdome mere specks swarming about at his feet…

He shuddered, his entire chassis vibrating, and raised his arms before his Conn Pod, examining every joint and plate of metal. His engine pulsed hotly in his chest, and his reactor throbbed with life. This felt… right. It felt familiar and warm, like returning home after a long absence. He had feared that it would be strange and terrifying resuming his larger form after so long, but he'd been wrong.

"Cherno?"

_I'm here, Papa, _he assured Alexis. _I'm all right. This is all right._

"Good," Sasha breathed. "It doesn't hurt?"

_No. It's like… it feels like when you and Papa put your drive suits on, I suppose. Like I'm wearing armor - different, but comfortable and protective. _He rumbled softly and lowered his hands to his sides. _I didn't realize how much I missed this._

Sasha was silent a moment, and when she spoke again she sounded wistful. "You missed your old body? Do you… do you want to return to it, permanently?"

_No! _he blurted. _No… I WANTED to be small for you and Papa. I like being small… but I like being big, too. I like knowing I can still protect you and the rest of the world… and I like knowing I can be small so I can interact with those I protect. If that makes sense._

"It does to us," Aleksis replied, his voice warm with pride.

"_All right, enough sentimentality," _Marshal Terekhov grumbled. _"Let's go through some basic maneuvers. Make sure this new body is up to snuff before we have to put it to the test against an ugly bugger from the deep."_

"_Yes, Marshal," _Cherno replied, and he raised his fists and cracked them together in his signature taunt. He had a job to do, and he wanted to be prepared. No Kaiju was going to menace Russia's shores on his watch.

* * *

_Crimson._

Crimson Typhoon glanced up from the e-reader… and felt his engine stutter. _H-hello, Coyote._

The gray Jaeger nodded and gestured to the spot beside Crimson. _Is that seat taken?_

Crimson didn't trust his vocalizer to not blurt out something completely idiotic in response and settled for a nod. Coyote nodded back and lowered herself to the floor beside him, joining him in leaning back against the titanic foot belonging to Crimson's larger body. If she found it bizarre to be using Crimson's second body as a backrest, she didn't mention it.

_It has been awhile, _she noted.

_It has. _He set the e-reader aside. _The last time I saw you was on that joint vacation to the island. All the Jaegers were there - at least, all the ones online at the time..._

_I remember, _she huffed. _I was there._

Crimson muted his vocalizer. There it was, something idiotic. Cherno insisted the Mark IV was one of the smartest Jaegers in the PPDC, but somehow he found himself reduced to a babbling dunce around Coyote. At least when they messaged one another he could take a few minutes to compose what he said, to plan his words carefully before hitting a button to send them her way. There really wasn't that option when it came to speaking aloud.

_How are you doing? _he asked. _How's Tokyo?_

_The same as ever, _she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. _Big. Flashy. Noisy. I stay out of it for the most part._

_But it's your home city._

_The Shatterdome is my home. The city is just a place where I killed a Kaiju many years ago. It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't live there._

Crimson had no idea what to say about that. He had come to accept Hong Kong - not just its Shatterdome, but the port city itself - as his home, and he loved it with the same passion as his brothers did. The lights, the bustle, the marketplaces, the shopping centers, the docks, even the oddities of the Bone Slums… all those things were dear to him. And they were a firm reminder of all he fought to protect so fiercely.

_How are YOU doing? _he asked at last.

_I'm well, _she replied. _Though… I must confess, a little lonely. Grew used to having company while I was here. I'm the only Jaeger in Tokyo at the moment… and I miss having you and the others around._

Crimson thrummed softly. _You won't be alone here. I'm here, and so is Mustang. You won't be alone with us._

She hummed in reply, finding a subtle harmony with Crimson's thrum. _Thank you. That means a lot to me. _She gazed at the other occupied hangars - her own full-sized chassis being lowered into its own hangar, Mustang Omega's gleaming black form, and Tacit Ronin looming silently next to her hangar. _The new one…_

_Tacit has been silent since he arrived, _Crimson replied softly. _Do you think… do you think you can reach him?_

_I don't know, _she confessed. _I gained full sentience before Pentecost… passed on. _Her humming stuttered at that, but smoothed out as she kept speaking. _I don't know if it's possible for Tacit to recover from his own loss, when they died before he began to move on his own._

_Mustang came to full sentience after his original Rangers died._

_Mustang was a far different case, _she countered. _His original Rangers treated him like an object, while Newt and Hermann treated him like a living being. Tacit's Rangers evidently saw him as sentient, if he's come this far along… I don't know if it will be possible for him to accept new ones now, at this point._

_Gipsy accepted Mako after her own Ranger died, and she hadn't begun to move on her own yet. _Crimson took her hand in his and squeezed it. _We can't give up hope. There has to be Rangers out there that he'll accept, even if he never forgets his original Rangers. And if he still refuses… there must be SOMETHING we can do. He's one of us… he's family. And we don't leave family behind._

Coyote gazed at him, long enough that he began to squirm under her scrutiny. _You watched THAT movie again, didn't you?_

_Cherno streams Disney movies sometimes, _Crimson admitted. _They're enjoyable. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?_

_No… I just hope a steady diet of those movies hasn't made a hopeless idealist out of you. _She chuckled and squeezed his hand in return. _I will do what I can for him… but I may need your help. Especially if the Kaiju have the lousy timing to strike in the middle of all this._

_I'll help you, _he vowed. _Whatever you need. Just let me know._

She nodded. _Let me meet him. Perhaps I can at least make introductions._

Crimson stood, pulling the Mark I to her feet, and led her towards Tacit's hangar. His and Coyote's first face-to-face (or cockpit-to-cockpit) meeting in a year hadn't gone quite as smoothly as he'd hoped, but it had been a start. And he wanted to help Coyote help Tacit as much as possible - not just for her sake, but for Tacit's as well. They couldn't let another Jaeger suffer.

* * *

If anyone had approached Marshal Tendo Choi and suggested that, with the Kaiju War over and the Jaeger program guaranteed funding from the Pan-Pacific Defense Corps, his job must be much less stressful nowadays, he would have laughed hysterically in their face.

Tendo sighed deeply and filed the image Captain Stone had sent him into the Event Log section of their archives. Another Kaiju sighting, this time off the coast of Japan… and not Slattern this time, but Otachi and what was definitely a juvenile Kaiju. He almost hadn't believed Dr. Geizler when he'd insisted the creatures could reproduce like ordinary animals, even with the carcass of Otachi Jr. as proof… but it was impossible to ignore the evidence now. These creatures could breed, and could possibly infest Earth's oceans even without a Breach to draw more numbers from.

And while the resurgence of the Kaiju was by far their most urgent crisis, it was hardly the only issue on his plate at the moment. The PPDC had guaranteed funding for the Shatterdome for a time, and donations continued to pour in from around the world… but those donations were slowing to a trickle, and there was no guarantee that government funding would last forever. Tacit Ronin was still refusing to respond to any efforts to awaken him or pair him with new Rangers, and though Coyote had pledged to help him she made no promises as to whether her aid would even help. Mammoth Apostle was back online but still getting accustomed to moving about without her Ranger to help her, and Hydra Corinthian's unorthodox choice of Rangers was causing no shortage of headaches for both Tendo and the Seattle Shatterdome's officers and crew.

The burden of the Jaeger program never got any lighter, even between wars, and there were times that Tendo looked back on his days as a tech monkey with longing and envy. But he had chosen this path, and it felt like a betrayal to abandon the Jaegers and their Rangers now. Besides, the only others he trusted to take up the job - Herc, Hermann, Mako, Sasha, Caitlin - had Jaegers to worry about.

He checked his inbox for any more alerts. No more Kaiju sightings - they seemed to go days between sightings, and none of those sightings were coming any closer to land. What were the Precursors planning, he wondered…

An e-mail popped up in his inbox, and he opened it to find a progress report on Hydra Corinthian from Caitlin Lightcap:

_Apologies for the lack of formality in this report, but I figure we're past that at this point._

_Hydra Corinthian has moved on his own for the first time! I can hardly believe it, but somehow his Rangers have managed it. Even Mustang Omega didn't start moving this quickly after bonding with Geizler and Gottlieb. He's still a little clumsy and shaky on his feet, but he's improving every hour, and so far there's been no major damage to the Shatterdome._

_Fiona and Jako are still proving to be a handful, but they get along like gangbusters with Hydra, so I suppose we shouldn't complain too much. When I asked them about how Hydra was progressing so fast, they mentioned something about "speedrunning" that I didn't understand. Circe says she's not going to argue with their methods if they produce results, so I suppose I shouldn't complain too much._

_Mammoth Apostle continues to progress as well. She's quite shy, but delighted to have company in Brawler and Hydra. She should be ready to be permanently stationed in Seattle by the end of the month, at which point Brawler and I will return to Vancouver and Hydra will be reassigned to Panama. _

_Has Tacit shown any progress? How are the other Jaegers faring? I'll be frank, I miss the days when all the Jaegers operated from the same Shatterdome. The Jaegers shared a cameradie that I felt was quite good for them and their development… and good for their Rangers as well._

_Keep us updated. Just because we operate from different continents now doesn't mean we can't share information between us. Especially if that information can help the Jaegers… and help protect the world._

Tendo chuckled softly. A little good news went a long way these days. And despite Fiona and Jako's eccentricities, it seemed they were just what Hydra needed.

"Holy shit, you're still in charge here?"

Tendo jerked his gaze up, one hand reaching for the taser he'd taken to carrying. He hated going about the Shatterdome armed, but after Bailey Rossi's treachery had nearly cost Cherno Alpha his life two years ago, it felt prudent to take some precautions. Just because most workers here wouldn't dare harm the Jaegers or anyone who worked closely with them didn't mean others were as like-minded.

"You," Tendo sighed, letting his hand drop. "Should I ask how you got in here?"

Hannibal Chau grinned - a grin that looked far more menacing than friendly, doubtless his intention. "Not even a friendly hello? After all I've done for you guys? This is the thanks I get for trying to be nice." He walked over to the nearest chair and sat down, propping his gold-plated shoes up on Tendo's desk. "Figured you'd've quit by now, gone back to your computers and left the paperwork to someone who enjoyed it. Guess you really have gotten boring."

Tendo closed the laptop on his desk and made sure none of the screens in his office were showing any sensitive information. "We're thankful for your help, Hannibal… but the Shatterdome's doing just fine right now. If you've come here offering a hand, then I'm afraid we'll have to say thanks but no thanks."

"So suddenly you guys don't like me anymore." Hannibal pulled out his blade and began cleaning his nails with it. "Admit it - without me, we'd all be Kaiju toejam by now. The least you can do is acknowledge that little fact."

"Believe me, we remember your help every day," Tendo replied. _And regret that we had to make a deal with a vulture to do so, _he wanted to add, but refrained. For all his unsavory ways, Hannibal had played his own role in the Kaiju War. And even if Tendo found the trade in Kaiju parts unsavory, if it meant the corpses of those monsters were cleared out of populated areas before they contaminated them, then so be it.

"So I'm not such a bad guy after all, am I?" Hannibal grinned. "You might even kinda like havin' me around."

"I wouldn't go that far," Tendo retorted. "Why are you here?"

"Just here to congratulate you on three new Jaegers," Hannibal replied. "And a little Shatterdome-warming gift for each one." And he slid an envelope towards Tendo, which the Marshal picked up as if it contained a bomb or a severed head. "Don't look so freaked out about it, Choi, it's just checks."

"Checks," Tendo repeated.

"I know, in this day and age?" Hannibal shrugged. "Some people like physical proof of a payment. Especially if it's a gift - an announcement of 'Happy Birthday, I sent you cash over ' kind of sucks…"

"You aren't the type to give something for nothing, Hannibal," Tendo retorted. "You're making hefty donations to three different Shatterdomes - why?"

"A man can't do something out of the goodness of his heart?" He managed to look wounded. "You hurt me, Choi. But it's a good hurt, because you're right - I gotta keep the Shatterdomes running smoothly. Who's gonna catch the Kaiju and keep me in business, after all?"

Tendo couldn't fault that logic. Like it or not, Hannibal needed the Jaeger program to survive - without the Kaiju they killed, his empire would collapse for want of fresh product. And if he chose to help the Jaeger program along in order to help himself, then so be it.

"I'll pass along any thanks they might offer," Tendo replied. "And… thank you." He had to force the words out.

"You're welcome, buddy." Hannibal let his feet drop from the desk, the metallic plating on them jingling like spurs as he stood. "Don't be a stranger, all right? We miss you down at headquarters. Don't send the shrimp next time, come yourself."

"The shrimp is a Ranger now," Tendo reminded him. "And he deserves some respect."

"Ranger or not, he's still a pipsqueak," Hannibal retorted. "Take care of yourself, Choi." And he strode out.

Tendo looked down at the envelope in his hand, suddenly feeling as if the money it contained was somehow tainted. Something about Hannibal's visit left him deeply unsettled, but he couldn't put his finger on the source. And part of him wanted to shred the checks and have nothing to do with this "gift" he offered.

In the end, with some misgivings, he set the envelope in his "in" box to take care of later. He had no desire to make an enemy out of Hannibal Chau by refusing his gift. The man would bear watching… but at the moment, he was an ally, however unpredictable.

* * *

Hannibal Chau waited until he had climbed back into his car and passed through the Shatterdome's security gate before belting out a laugh loud enough to startle his driver into hitting the brakes. He lurched forward, giving the driver an ugly glare, but continued laughing. The poor schmuck stared at him as if wondering if his employer had lost his mind, then shook his head and kept driving.

Still laughing, Hannibal propped one foot up on his knee and ran his fingertips over the sole of his shoe, feeling for the device that had been embedded there during his meeting with Tendo. It wasn't there - only a telltale dip marked where he had hollowed out a chunk of tread to contain the drone. Which meant it had fallen out during their meeting and remained behind in the Marshal's office.

He gave a Cheshire-cat grin and lowered his foot, leaning back in the heated-leather seat. Perfect. The recording drone would skitter towards the nearest source of electricity - the laptop on Tendo's desk - and embed itself inside, feeding off information and funneling it back to Hannibal. Anything Tendo was fool enough to keep on that computer would be his.

The actual Shatterdome computers would have been a better source of information, he knew… but they would also be better secured against hacking and intrusion. He was counting on Tendo being less vigilant about his own personal files. It was a risk… but one he was willing to take.

_Adapt or die, _he thought, watching the lights of Hong Kong slide past the windows. He'd told Tendo that he fully intended to do that when the second Breach closed. But adapting took time, resources, patience… and he didn't have an infinite supply of any of those. With no Kaiju attacks in the past two years his product was drying up fast, and he had no way to replace it. And while he could probably take up gun-running again or dip into the drug trade or some other means to keep his empire afloat, the effort and expenditure it would take to switch gears could very well sink the very empire he was trying to save.

But the recent reports on the news - of a sailing sloop and a salvage boat both encountering Kaiju in the Pacific - could be the key to saving his business. And this time, he had bigger plans in store. Plans that would ensure a little thing like the closing of the Breach wouldn't kill his empire off entirely.

_Adapt or die… adapt or die. Evolve like a Kaiju, or get trampled underfoot. You got this, Hannibal. You just need to sit back and listen._


	6. Visions and Encounters

Uncle Newt was dreaming again. Mustang Omega could feel it, the images playing out in the back of his mind like a video file. And as always, it took all his willpower not to charge into his Ranger's bedroom and shake him awake. It was one of THOSE dreams, and though Newt insisted they didn't bother him, Mustang knew otherwise.

He looked up from the tank of Kaiju flesh samples he was taking notes on, his visual sensors making "eye" contact with Uncle Hermann at his desk. The scientist gave a slight nod, indicating that he sensed the nightmares too, then shook his head to warn Mustang off of waking him up. The black Jaeger wanted to fuss, but he didn't like to argue with his Rangers if he could help it. They were usually right about things, after all.

"Yo 'Stang, wanna get me some fresh slides?"

Mustang nodded and hurried to the supply closet. _"Yes, Van Pelt."_

"I have asked you time and again not to refer to him as 'Stang,' Gideon," Hermann grumbled, going back to his equations. "His name is Mustang Omega, and Mustang is a perfectly dignified name if you must abbreviate it somehow."

"Yeah, but Mustang makes him sound like some kinda cowboy," Gideon Van Pelt retorted, taking the slides from Mustang. "'Stang is short, catchy, and he doesn't mind it. Right, 'Stang?"

Mustang cringed a bit at the name, but didn't say anything. He just focused on fishing a slab of Kaiju tissue out of a nearby tank so he and Van Pelt could prepare slides for Uncle Newt. The nickname felt weird to him, but he didn't protest it - he wanted so badly for his uncles' new lab assistants to like him, and throwing a fit over a harmless nickname felt like a good way to make enemies of them.

Hermann gave Mustang a penetrating look. "He doesn't like it, but he's being polite in not telling you so. Now be respectful and call him by the correct name, or I can send you to mop the dissection corner."

Van Pelt grimaced. "Okay, point made. Sorry, Mustang."

Mustang chirped an acceptance and picked up a scalpel, carefully slicing thin sheets of tissue for the microscope slides.

_Mustang, _Hermann added, his mental voice reaching him through the drift, _you know you can stand up for yourself, don't you? Don't let these young pups walk all over you._

_I want them to like me, though, _Mustang protested, not looking up from his work. _The other Jaegers and Rangers didn't like me at first… and I don't want to have people not like me again._

Hermann sighed softly. _It wasn't you they didn't like, dear-heart. It was your former Rangers, may the gods rest their souls. The Rossis were unlikable and disrespectful, and they merely saw you as an extension of them. And Mustang… don't worry if these brats Tendo has foisted on us like you or not. Newt and I like you very much, and that's most important, isn't it?_

_I guess so, _Mustang replied, though he felt otherwise. He only remembered bits and pieces of his time before Newt and Hermann, but he certainly remembered his fellow Jaegers' disdain towards his old pilots… and their disgust towards a Jaeger they saw as a soulless "zombie," lacking the spark of life they all carried. They had accepted him readily enough once he'd bonded with Newt and Hermann and begun the rapid climb towards full sentience… but those remembered insults and jabs still stung him to the core.

He had no desire to relive that time, and so when Tendo had ordered Newt and Hermann to hire lab assistants so they didn't run themselves ragged juggling their Ranger training with their scientific duties, Mustang had been desperate to befriend them right away. He pitched in to fetch things for them, tried to get to know them better, and never complained at their teasing and silly nicknames. Perhaps he'd never be close friends with them, but at the very least he didn't want them to hate him.

"Ah, there you are, Newton," Hermann snorted, looking up as Newt staggered into the labs. "Sleeping Beauty joins the land of the living at last."

"Oh, I didn't know you swung that way, Hermann," Uncle Newt retorted, though the jab was spoiled by a thick yawn. "Did I miss anything?"

"_Hello, Uncle Newt!" _Mustang reached out and pulled Newt into a quick hug before holding him at arm's length to inspect him. As always the xenobiologist was rumpled and unshaven, but somehow today he looked even more rumpled and unshaven than usual. And dark patches under his eyes gave him a bruised, haunted look despite his wide smile.

"Hey Mustang!" Newt greeted. "You and Van Pelt got the slides ready for me?"

"Almost, Dr. Geizler," Van Pelt replied.

"Dude, we've been over this," Newt reminded him. "Only my mom calls me Dr. Geizler."

"Odd that you'd address Newton with respect and insist on a ridiculous nickname for Mustang," Hermann grumbled. "And Newton, for God's sake, stop bingeing on the energy drinks. You look like death warmed over."

"Hey, I only had three Monsters yesterday," Newt shot back, pulling off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "I slept just fine! Just… nightmares is all."

Mustang whined softly. _"Nightmares? About the Precursors?"_

"Oh, here we go again," Van Pelt muttered. "What was the dream this time? The bird with teeth or the worm hat?"

"Hey, both those things make sense in context if we're talkin' about Precursors!" Newt retorted. "For all we know, their next Kaiju'll have a beak with teeth in it! And Leatherback kinda had a worm-hat if you look at his EMP organ just right…"

Hermann frowned. "This is not something to joke about, Van Pelt. Any dreams about the Precursors or the Kaiju need to be reported to the Marshal. Even if it turns out to be nothing, we're better off being safe than sorry at this point."

"We're talking about a man who dreamed about putting mittens on Kaiju to lessen their destructive impact," Van Pelt retorted. "It's hard to take anything seriously after THAT."

Mustang rested a hand on Newt's shoulder. _"What did you see, Uncle Newt? The Anteverse? Or something else?"_

"I thought you'd already know, buddy," Newt told him, patting the Jaeger's shoulder in return. "You get a front-row seat to my dreams, doncha?"

"_Yes, but I try not to look too closely," _Mustang admitted. _"Dreams are weird. And I want to give you privacy in your head, even if it's just your dreams."_

"Aww, thanks." Newt pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Kaiju this time. A bunch of them on the ocean floor."

"Wearing mittens?" Van Pelt quipped.

"Shut UP!" Hermann snapped. "Newt, continue."

"Anyhow, there was probably about a dozen Kaiju gathered - and they were arranged in a circle, with some kinda undersea vent in the center. Almost like a campfire. And they were… I don't wanna call it talking, but they were growling and rumbling and kinda chirping to one another…"

"Chirping?" Van Pelt repeated, voice thick with disbelief. "Those ugly things chirp now?"

"Another word out of you and you can pack your things, Van Pelt," Hermann retorted. "Newton… we've never had any indication before that these things can communicate with each other. Are you certain of this?"

Newt nodded vigorously. "I saw what I saw, man! It wasn't just noise for noise's sake, they acted like they were having a conversation. Pausing to let someone reply and going back and forth in an argument and everything. And one of 'em looked like they were in charge of the meeting, like a chair-Kaiju or something. A Slattern clone, it looked like."

Hermann pondered Newt's words, and Mustang shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. He wasn't sure just what the implications of this vision could be, but he knew the Kaiju were acting unpredictably, and nothing good ever came from a Kaiju deviating from its usual patterns. They were animals with a certain set of actions and reactions, and if they were acting erratically it could mean the Precursors had something terrible in store.

"Huh," Van Pelt grunted. "Honestly, I'd prefer the Kaiju mittens."

Hermann slapped his hand on the desk and pushed himself to his feet. "Out. Now."

"Oh come on, it was a joke!" Van Pelt protested.

"You were warned, Gideon!" Hermann retorted. "Pack your things and get out! See Tendo for your final paycheck!"

Van Pelt swore and stormed off. Mustang scurried out of his way with a whine.

"Dude, that's the third lab assistant you've run off this month," Newt pointed out. "Did you have to?"

"You're a Ranger, Newton," Hermann retorted. "You deserve to be treated with respect."

"Yeah, but it wasn't THAT bad."

"The three of us are a team." Hermann looked back and forth from Newt to Mustang, his expression softening. "If the two of you won't stand up for yourselves, then I'll stand up for you. No one mocks my team. Not if I have anything to say about it."

Despite his worry over Uncle Newt's vision, Mustang blazed with loving pride at those words. Lightcap, he loved these two. Newt's warmth and humor and willingness to give even the most unorthodox plan a try, Hermann's wit and fire and utter refusal to let anyone hurt those he cared about… they complimented each other nicely, and he adored them for those traits and more. That, and they'd given him a second chance when so many had given up on him. How could he not love them after that?

"Now go talk to the Marshal," Hermann ordered. "Mustang and I will put your samples up so they don't spoil while you're gone."

"Sir yes sir," Newt replied, saluting playfully before walking out.

* * *

EVENT LOG FROM PAN-PACIFIC DEFENSE CORPS ARCHIVES

MEDIA TYPE: Teleconference recording

SOURCE: Personal hard drive of Mako Mori, Ranger to Gipsy Danger

DATE RECORDED: August 4, 2027

LOCATION RECORDED: Anchorage Shatterdome, Anchorage, Alaska, United States

_Footage begins approximately thirty seconds into the video call, with five Jaegers - Crimson Typhoon, Gipsy Danger, Cherno Alpha, Striker Eureka, and Mustang Omega - visible via webcam onscreen. A sixth joins the call less than a second after recording begins._

BRAWLER YUKON: -the damn thing working YET? This was SO much easier when we were all just in the same Shatterdome, why do they gotta spread us out anyhow-

CRIMSON TYPHOON: Um, Brawler? You're on.

BRAWLER: ...oh shit, really? Whoops, sorry for the language.

GIPSY DANGER: It's okay. We're all adults here. Well, mentally speaking…

STRIKER EUREKA: Not all of us. Cherno, cover your audials, a'right?

CHERNO ALPHA: Hey, I'm older than you, Striker! YOU cover your audials!

STRIKER: Oh come on, heard a LOT worse from Chuck an' Herc. So who're we waitin' on?

MUSTANG OMEGA: Coyote, Hydra, and Mammoth, it looks like. Coyote should be on soon, but what's keeping the others?

BRAWLER: Mammoth's outside stretchin' her legs - her Ranger wanted her to get used to walkin' on actual ground and sea floor again before she faced a Kaiju. She'll join up soon as she's done. Hydra's doing… Hydra things, I guess.

GIPSY: Awww, I really wanted to meet the new ones! Well, I know they're not NEW new, not as new as Mustang, no offense…

MUSTANG: None taken.

CRIMSON: What do you mean by "Hydra things?"

BRAWLER: _*low engine rumble* _His Rangers are gamers. Guess what hobby they're teachin' him?

STRIKER: _*groans* _For Lightcap's sake…

BRAWLER: Speakin' of Lightcap, Mom says the next Jaeger who takes her name in vain gets a piece of her mind. So maybe quit it, guys.

STRIKER: Oh come on! It's not like we actually worship her or anything!

CRIMSON: Well, would you like it if someone started using your Rangers' names as curse words?

STRIKER: _*huffs*_

_Another Ranger joins the conference - Coyote Tango. Crimson Typhoon immediately shows signs of discomfort._

COYOTE TANGO: Sorry I'm late. What did I miss?

CHERNO: Hydra playing video games and Lightcap not liking us to use her name to curse, I guess.

GIPSY: _*trills as if laughing* _Points for honesty, Cherno. Though why are you and Crimson and Mustang on separate screens? Wouldn't it be easier to just share the same webcam?

MUSTANG: We thought it would be too crowded. Plus Crimson has a crush on Coyote and that would make being stuck between them super awkward-

CRIMSON: Mustang!

MUSTANG: What, it's the truth!

GIPSY: _*trills again* _Don't worry, Crimson, we all saw it long before he said anything. And I think it's cute.

STRIKER: Guess we don't have to ask how you fellas are settlin' in, do we?

_*Crimson holds his Conn Pod in his hands while Coyote and Mustang trill*_

COYOTE: We are settling in fine. Preparing for eventual Kaiju landfall, of course, though I also spend time talking to Tacit Ronin. Mustang helps his Rangers with their laboratory work, while Crimson works out better battle strategies.

CHERNO: You're keeping busy over there. Good job. How's Tacit doing?

COYOTE: Making progress - slow progress, but progress. He still grieves for his Rangers, but at least he is talking to me. Now if he will only respond to Crimson and Mustang…

GIPSY: I'm sure he will with time. Losing a Ranger is always hard. I'm sure several of us know that.

_*Several seconds of silence*_

STRIKER: Well, THAT got depressin' in a hurry.

CRIMSON: Do you mind if we change the subject, Coyote?

COYOTE: Not at all. How fares everyone else?

CHERNO: It's a little confusing, trying to adjust to being small in the Shatterdome. And I miss school, though my parents are homeschooling me between training sessions. But other than that, good.

GIPSY: You were enrolled in school, Cherno?

CHERNO: Yes. Mama and Papa wanted to raise me as normally as possible, they said. And they found a private school that would take me.

GIPSY: That's wonderful! Raleigh's suggested I enroll in a university up here, but I wasn't sure if they'd let me. Maybe I should pick something to study and go for it, huh?

STRIKER: So does that mean you ain't movin' down here with me?

GIPSY: Oh! I… I haven't decided yet, Striker. But if I do, I could still apply for school down there, couldn't I?

STRIKER: Like I'd stop ya, sheila. Want you to be happy down here, ya know?

GIPSY: _*looks away, making a low crooning sound*_

BRAWLER: Okay, you lovebirds. _*rumbles as if in laughter* _Anyone got anything to report- OUCH!

_*Brawler is knocked to the side as another Jaeger crowds into his frame - Hydra Corinthian*_

HYDRA CORINTHIAN: G'day, mates! What'd I miss?

MUSTANG: Hi Hydra! _*waves*_

STRIKER: Nice've ya t' finally join us, wanker! What's this I hear 'bout ya playin' games?

HYDRA: Oh, hush, ya wombat. I bond with my Rangers my way, you bond with yours your way.

CRIMSON: ...why are you talking with an Australian accent? I thought you were from Panama.

HYDRA: Yeah, but my Rangers are Aussies. Well, Fiona's a Kiwi, but lived down under a lotta years 'fore joinin' the program. Got a Spanish-language program installed, but I like talkin' like my Rangers.

GIPSY: I'm surprised you're up and mobile already! I thought it would take a year or so for you to get to this point.

HYDRA: That'd be Fiona's doin'. She's a speedrunner - someone who tries to play games fast as possible an' is always lookin' for ways to shave time off. So when she an' Jako drifted with me they'd focus as much as possible on gettin' me self-mobile. Didn't want me laggin' behind more'n necessary.

BRAWLER: I keep tellin' you that pilotin' a Jaeger is nothin' like a video game! Didn't we have a set of Rangers who thought the same? An' look what happened to them.

GIPSY: Brawler, Mustang is sitting RIGHT HERE! Be nice!

MUSTANG: It's okay… it's kind of the truth…

HYDRA: That's not what I meant! Fiona an' Jako know it ain't like a video game. But it's the speedrunner mentality is all. _*holds up a hand* _Here's your goal. _*holds up his other hand* _Here's where you are. Fiona just likes to find the quickest path from here to here. _*motions with each hand as indicated* _An' even if it only shaves off an extra second or two… well, every second counts, right? One less second I gotta be dependent on them to move around is one more second I can just spend with 'em as an equal, right?

STRIKER: ...huh. Didn't think 'bout that.

COYOTE: Put that way, it sounds much better. That was quite thoughtful of your parents.

HYDRA: Oh, they ain't my parents.

CRIMSON: Siblings, then?

HYDRA: Why we gotta give 'em fancy terms like that anyhow? They're my family. We ain't gotta be related, call each other Mom or Dad or Bro or Sis or anythin'. We just love an' take care of each other.

GIPSY: That's… a really sweet way of looking at it. Though I still think of Raleigh and Mako as brother and sister.

HYDRA: 'Ey, do what makes you comfortable. I ain't got a problem with it.

BRAWLER: I still dunno why you picked the gamers as your Rangers, honestly. There were so many other good choices.

CRIMSON: People thought the same thing when I picked a trio of street punks as my own Rangers. But look how it turned out. It doesn't matter who we picked, I think - just that we made it work, and that we've become family in the process. And look at how far we've all come - we're not just soldiers in the Kaiju War, but living beings with families and loved ones. I think that's all that's important in the end.

MUSTANG: You said it, Crimson! _*claps*_

STRIKER: Okay, so everyone's settlin' in okay, Lightcap wants us to pick a different favorite swear word, an' Hydra's turned into a gamer freak. Glad we got all that settled. Any idea when Mammoth's joinin' us? Was hopin' for a gander at the other new Jaeger.

BRAWLER: She should be back any minute now… hang on, Mom's calling. _*ducks out of the frame*_

STRIKER: So… anyone need anything? Something we can do to help you, Coyote?

COYOTE: Tacit Ronin is not speaking to anyone but me at the moment. What he needs now is time. Time to recover, and to accept that his Rangers are gone.

CHERNO: Do we have that time, though? We don't know when the Kaiju are going to attack. I hate to say it, but… I'm scared.

GIPSY: I think we're all scared, Cherno. The Kaiju have never gone this long between a sighting and landfall. But there's more of us now, and even better, we have funding to support the Shatterdomes, at least for the moment. We're prepared now, and even if we're down one Jaeger, there are plenty of us to answer the call now.

MUSTANG: And the minute one steps on any shoreline, we'll kick it's ass! _*pumps a fist*_

STRIKER: _*laughs* _I like this kid. Gettin' a head an' proper Rangers has been good for ya, Mustang.

HYDRA: Speaking of funding, my Rangers had an idea for-

BRAWLER: _*steps into the frame, gesturing for Hydra to stop talking* _We got a problem here! Hydra, get to your hangar an' get plugged into your Conn Pod! Everyone else, stand by!

CRIMSON: What's going on? Has there been landfall?

BRAWLER: Not yet, but Mammoth just ran into a Kaiju off the coast! It's headin' up the sound, closin' in on Seattle fast!

* * *

_*General uproar from every Jaeger, including growls, squeals, and various exclamations and profanities. Commotion is still in progress when recording ends*_

"Easy girl… take it slow. It's been awhile since we walked on uneven ground. Don't put your full weight on your foot until you're sure of the ground beneath it."

Mammoth Apostle carefully made her way deeper into the waters of Puget Sound, gaze fixed on her feet as the waters frothed about her legs. Part of her felt grateful for her Ranger's comforting words, but part of her burned with embarrassment as well. This was far from her first time walking, after all. She'd not only walked through water before but joined in pitched battle amidst crashing waves and violent storms. She shouldn't be this unsure about taking a few steps in relatively calm waters on an overcast but pleasant day.

"Mammoth, sweetheart, this is your first time walking outside on your own," Circe told her, resting a hand on her interior console. "It's okay to be nervous."

Mammoth whined softly. _Are you sure, Mother?_

"Positive, my dear. Careful where you put your foot, though, especially if you can't see the bottom."

She hummed acknowledgement and took another hesitant step. The water surged up her thighs and almost to her hips now, and she shivered at the sensation. Circe did have a point - it was far different doing this under her own power than when she had her Rangers guiding every step. But if Gipsy Danger and Brawler Yukon and all the other Jaegers could manage this, then she could too. It was just going to take practice.

Something bumped into her left hip, and she gave a confused chirrup of her engines as she glanced down to investigate. A piece of floating debris, perhaps? She wouldn't let herself think "Kaiju," not now… surely there would have been some warning…

A sleek black-and-white shape emerged from the water ahead of her, emitting a burst of vapor before delving back under water. Mammoth cocked her Conn Pod, chirruping again. She should know the name of that creature, but it escaped her at the moment…

"Orca," Circe provided. "They're native to the Sound. Though I'm amazed that they feel comfortable enough around you to come that close."

_It's beautiful, _Mammoth marveled, watching the beast surface and dive again. _It's nice to know that the ocean can be home to beautiful things. Not just the Kaiju._

"It is, isn't it? Do you feel comfortable going out a little farther?"

Mammoth nodded and strode deeper, taking each step with care. She'd go out up to her chest, she figured, then turn back…

Her foot came down on a surface that, while hard, gave under her weight. Before she could react it jerked beneath her, then yanked itself out from under her foot and writhed away. She flailed, struggling to regain her balance, only to topple into the waves. Her chassis impacted against the rocky ocean floor, sending bursts of pain and minor damage readouts rocketing through her systems.

"Mammoth, are you all right?" Circe demanded, as if that fall hadn't just thrown her across the Conn Pod.

_I'm all right, Mother! _Mammoth assured her, trying to push herself upright. _What about you?_

"I'm all-" A hiss of pain. "I think I've wrenched my leg. But I'll be all right. Just get up, and fast. That wasn't a rock."

Mammoth didn't have to ask what it was - she knew full well what she'd just stepped on. She worked her hand and cannon beneath her, trying to push herself to her feet again…

Only to freeze as a long, lean form erupted from the waters of Puget sound, twisting around to stare balefully at her. Serrated slate-blue scales covered its back and sides, leaving a muscular yellow-green chest exposed, and its flattened body, powerful tail, and long muzzle gave it the look of a bipedal crocodile. Bioluminescent yellow lines scrawled across its body like a deranged road map, and seawater dripped from the wicked claws and sharp, angular scales like venom or ichor.

_Kaiju, _Mammoth realized with growing horror. _That's a Kaiju. No, no, no, it's making landfall already, I'm not ready, I'm not ready to fight it, no, no, no!_

Her engines cranked into overdrive, uttering a bestial scream that ripped through the air. The Kaiju returned the scream in kind, its jaws splitting three ways like an alien flower to reveal a smaller, oddly equine head that uttered a high-pitched screech right in her Conn Pod. Both screams reverberated through the salty air, carrying across Puget Sound with enough force to reach every major city along the inlet.

Then the Kaiju - Raiju, Circe's thoughts provided - closed its weird jaws and stepped closer, claws raised. Mammoth made to raise her cannon, only to lose her balance and fall backwards into the water. She was dead, dead for good this time, she never should have left the Shatterdome, not with Brawler or Hydra by her side…

Claws closed around her arm, and she found herself hauled to her feet. The taloned forelimbs gripped her shoulders as if to steady her, then Raiju backed away, paws raised in a gesture so like a human surrender that Mammoth could only gape at it.

"What…" Circe began, but couldn't find the words.

Raiju held the stance a moment longer, then twisted around and dove into the water, slithering beneath the waves and leaving Seattle - and a very baffled Jaeger - far behind.


	7. An Unlikely Ranger

It would have been a bizarre sight for any human or Jaeger had they been able to witness this tableau - Kaiju not just cowering in fear, but scrambling to put distance between themselves and their perceived threat. The three newcomers - Knifehead, Leatherback, and Trespasser, as the humans would have identified them - scurried out of Slattern's reach, while Mutavore shifted to put himself between the angry titan and Otachi, who in turn hunched low over their cub. Onibaba hung back, grumbling quietly to herself and fiddling her claws together.

Raiju, Slattern's target, hunched his shoulders and neck like a dog being scolded, tail tucked between his legs. He flinched as Slattern flashed a paw out and cuffed him over the head, but didn't back away. He seemed to accept that he'd erred, and that he deserved whatever consequences their leader chose to dish out.

_You IDIOT, _Slattern hissed, whacking him again. _You let them see you!_

_I'm sorry, _he whimpered, backing away a step.

_Sorry doesn't fix it, _she snapped. _The Jaegers know you're here now! They've seen you, and they've seen Otachi and her cub! That was the most important rule - that you show yourself to no one - and you've broken it!_

_You showed yourself to them when we first got here, _Mutavore pointed out, then flinched and ducked his head low as if expecting a blow.

_That was an accident, _Slattern retorted. _And the humans could have dismissed that as someone telling stories had we kept it to one sighting. But they've seen us three times now… they'll hunt us to the ends of this planet at this rate. You absolute FOOLS._

_I was bored, okay? _Raiju protested. _I went for a swim and I got lost, so I followed a current hoping it'd lead me back here but I just got even more lost, then I saw land and figured I'd just follow a coastline until-_

_Stop babbling, _Slattern snapped, slapping her tails against the ocean floor. _At least tell me you weren't stupid enough to attack the Jaeger._

_Uuuhhh… _Raiju reached up with a forepaw to scratch its head in a gesture that, unbeknownst to the Kaiju, was remarkably humanlike. _About that…_

_Oh, great, _Onibaba rumbled. _Our first contact with a Jaeger and it's between one of THEM and our resident idiot. Who wants to take bets on how long before they hunt us down and slit our throats?_

_I didn't hurt it! _Raiju insisted, raising his paws in surrender. _It fell, so I pulled it up!_

Slattern blinked slowly. _You… what?_

_It… it looked like it was having trouble standing up, _Raiju went on. _It stepped on me and I screamed and it screamed and it was trying to get up but it was having problems so I just pulled it up to its feet…_

_You helped a Jaeger? _demanded Knifehead. _One of the metal monsters these insects use to hunt us down and slaughter us and you HELPED it?_

_It… seemed like the right thing to do? _Raiju's whimper made the statement into a question.

Slattern narrowed her eyes to slits as she glared at the reptilian Kaiju, but her tails stilled, her anger giving way to thoughtfulness. Perhaps Raiju hadn't completely ruined their chances at surviving in this world. Perhaps the human specks would see that not all Kaiju were murderous forces of destruction, and that it was possible to make peace with a handful of them. Perhaps this wasn't a disaster, but a chance at negotiation.

_Perhaps whales will fly, _she grumbled, pushing away those overly-optimistic thoughts.

_What's THAT supposed to mean? _Onibaba demanded.

_Nothing. _Her gaze swept their small gathering. _No one leaves the ocean for any reason. No one even approaches a landmass. No one goes above water, and no one allows so much as the tip of a horn to break the surface. We have the floor of an entire ocean to claim as our home - there is no need for anyone to venture into human territory at all. Am I clear?_

The gathered Kaiju rumbled assent.

_Good. The next Kaiju to break the rules will be severely punished. As for you, Split-Head…_

Raiju cringed. _Don't kill me!_

_I'm not going to kill you, fool. We're better than our primal instincts. Claw-Tail, you're no longer excused from border patrols. _

Otachi hissed, the claws at the end of her tail snapping in agitation. _Why am I being punished for his failure? _

_You would have been given a patrol sooner or later, _Slattern replied. _You'll start tomorrow. Split-Head will look after your cub for you._

Raiju had started to slink off already, but froze at that remark. _But I dunno how to take care of a cub!_

_Then I suggest you learn. _Slattern swept her gaze around, glaring at the others as if daring them to contradict her, then stalked off. Otachi gave an irritated snap at her tail as she passed by, but Slattern ignored her.

_You were pretty harsh on the kid, _Onibaba noted, scuttling after her. _Was that really necessary?_

_Someone has to be harsh with them, _Slattern replied. _They're children, bumbling about on this world with no clue what they're doing. If being harsh now means they'll survive another day, then so be it.  
_

Onibaba cocked her head and chittered a laugh. _You're no older than most of them, you know._

Slattern rolled her eyes. _Neither are you, yet you act like you're older than us all. _

Onibaba chuckled and nipped at one of Slattern's tails with a claw. _We're going to have to deal with the bugs and their Jaegers sooner or later, you know. We can't hide from them forever._

_I know. _Slattern ground her fangs as she climbed up onto the fin-shaped rock that had become her usual lookout post. _But I can delay that day as long as possible. We came here for freedom, to be able to decide our own destinies instead of being puppets to the Masters. I didn't bring all of you here to see you be beaten to pulp by the Jaegers._

Onibaba bared her teeth and rumbled a laugh. _Better to have died a free beast than as a puppet. _She nipped at Slattern's tail again, and chuckled as the larger Kaiju twitched it out of the way like an irritated cat. _I'll go look Raiju over and make sure he didn't take any harm from his misadventure. You rest. Big-Nose and Crest-Head can handle patrol for now._

Slattern nodded and lowered her head to her forepaws as Onibaba scuttled off. She'd taken a huge responsibility onto her shoulders - assuming charge of the newly sentient Kaiju, and ensuring they didn't do anything too enormously stupid while they got settled on this strange new world. And she feared that it would all be for naught - that the Jaegers would eventually hunt them down, and destroy them as they had destroyed their brethren so many times before.

But an emotion burned in her chest, one as unfamiliar but as welcoming as her sudden onset of sentience… hope. And as long as she clung to that feeling, she sensed that perhaps things would find a way to work out. They just had to try.

* * *

"What are you watching, Gipsy?"

Gipsy glanced up. _"Oh, um… nothing."_

"Hmmm… I'm not sure what enjoyment you'd get from staring at a blank screen, unless it's your way of trying to meditate."

Gipsy couldn't help but chuckle. _"Just a video game stream, Mako."_

"Oh?" Mako stepped into Gipsy's room and peered at the screen. "Who's streaming?"

"_Hydra Corinthian." _She nodded at the screen, which was laid out like any other streamers' Twitch channel - save that the head and shoulders taking up one corner of the screen belonged to a bulky white-and-blue Jaeger instead of a human. _"He does this every evening. Sometimes his Rangers join him, but today it's just him."_

Mako studied the screen, taking note of the chat and the viewer count. "He seems popular. I suppose part of it is the novelty of a Jaeger playing video games, but still, he must be entertaining if they keep watching. What game is this?"

"_Something called _Starcraft. _It's not full of a lot of action - there's a lot of emphasis on building bases and harvesting materials and such - but it's kind of fascinating to watch. And Hydra talks a lot about his strategies… and sometimes about weirder stuff."_

"What sort of weirder stuff-" Mako began.

Hydra's voice broke over the speakers at that moment. _"So hypothetical question for you squishy humans out there. If you clone yourself, then bang your clone, is that considered incest or masturbation?"_

Mako clapped a hand over her mouth, and Gipsy hunched her Conn Pod low, wishing she could withdraw it totally into her torso like a turtle pulling into its shell. That wasn't the most bizarre comment to fly out of Hydra's vocalizer tonight, but it was certainly out there. And of course he just HAD to blurt it out when her Ranger was listening…

"_I mean, I know cloning tech hasn't advanced THAT far, but still, it's somethin' to think about should you ever get to that point. Not that it's something I worry 'bout, Jaegers ain't built for that kinda thing. Last thing we need swingin' 'round an' gettin' in the way durin' a Kaiju beatdown is a giant-"_

Gipsy hit the Mute button just in time. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! He's usually not this bad…"

Giggles forced their way out from behind Mako's hand, and Gipsy relaxed. What she'd taken for utter horror was actually amusement. Either Mako was much harder to shock than she realized, or she was good at keeping it hidden.

"I see what you mean," Mako said at last, lowering her hand. "He's… unique."

"_Striker says he's 'bloody weird,'" _Gipsy replied. _"Cherno thinks he's fun. Hydra's actually taught him some games."_

"And what do you think about him?"

Gipsy shrugged. _"He's different… but he's not a bad different. All of us are different - Crimson's a scholar, Cherno's a little kid at his core, Coyote's stern, Brawler's friendly, Mammoth's shy. I never thought we'd get a Jaeger like Hydra, but he's still interesting, and I'm enjoying getting to know him. Even if getting to know him involves watching him play video games and make a running commentary on them."_

Mako nodded. "It's fascinating, seeing how every Jaeger develops under the influence of their Rangers. And I hope to see him develop even further on his own." She rested a hand on Gipsy's arm. "You mentioned Striker… have you thought any further about his offer?"

Gipsy felt her engines sputter at that. She'd been purposely ignoring this issue, not talking about it and doing everything possible to distract herself from thinking about it. But when one of her Rangers asked her about it so directly like this, how could she not respond? Even if she feared that her response would upset them?

"_I have… but I don't think you and Raleigh will like my answer."_

Mako nodded. "You want to go to Sydney, then? Live with him?"

"_I do… I do so much. But I don't want to force you and Raleigh to move either! Raleigh's in school, and you've just gotten settled in, and I know you guys don't get along with Chuck… but I don't want to leave you either! I don't want to lose my Rangers again!"_

Mako shook her head. "Gipsy… you won't lose us. We will always be your Rangers, no matter what happens. And you deserve to think about what YOU want, not just what you think other people need or want. If you want to go to Sydney and be with Striker, then we won't stop you. Raleigh and I can make our own decisions on whether we accompany you or not."

Gipsy looked down at her hands, guilt gnawing at her core. _"If I go… would you come with me? Or do you need time to think about it?"_

"I would be honored to come with you. I can't answer for Raleigh… but I believe he would follow you to Australia in a second, school or no school."

"_What about Chuck? I don't want him and Raleigh to fight again."_

"I'm sure Striker will handle Chuck," Mako replied. "If not… your brother and I can handle ourselves. You just worry about getting yourself settled in, and on deciding what kind of future you and Striker want."

Gipsy nodded. _"Thank you, Mako. I'm sorry about all this. I just… want to figure things out. Especially if we've got another Kaiju War coming up - I don't want to waste any time."_

"I understand. Just make sure this is what YOU want." She wrapped an arm around Gipsy's shoulders in a half-hug. "Do you mind if I watch a little more with you?"

"_Not at all. Raleigh can even come join us if he wants."_

"He's in the middle of a school assignment right now, but I'm sure he'd love to join us when he's done."

Gipsy nodded, and she unmuted the speakers just in time for Hydra to blurt out something about "all your base are belong to us!" She had no idea what that was supposed to mean - some kind of gamer slang, she supposed - but it got a laugh out of her and Mako anyhow. And at the moment, she wanted as much laughter as she could get… before the Kaiju made actual landfall, and they were called back into action once more.

* * *

"Are you bloody kidding me?!" Herc roared. "Mammoth stepped RIGHT on one'a the bloody beasts an' she just let it go?!"

Tendo sighed and lowered the volume slightly on the laptop. "Mammoth Apostle has just regained sentience. She's still nervous about moving autonomously. I'm not expecting her to be battle-ready immediately, especially when she was only out on a test run at the time."

"That Kaiju coulda gone after Seattle," Herc growled, and he turned and punched something offscreen - a wall, judging by the solidness of the resulting _thump_. "It coulda leveled the city!"

"It didn't," Tendo replied. "And we had Brawler and Hydra available had Raiju tried to make landfall. They would have stopped it."

"I still-"

"Herc… we are not going to blame Mammoth for any of this. She's frightened and embarrassed enough as it is. We're going to be grateful the Kaiju didn't make landfall, and we're going to try to figure out what's going on instead of assigning blame."

Herc went silent, working his jaw as he mulled over what to say in response. He finally settled for "So what now?"

"That's the million-dollar question, isn't it?" Tendo rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing deeply. "These Kaiju aren't behaving normally at all. And one of them not only came within striking distance of land but didn't get any closer, but helped a Jaeger to her feet. I'll be honest… we're all stumped. Even Newt's baffled - excited at this new development, but still baffled."

"Think it's some kinda new evolution?" Herc asked. "We saw that durin' the first Kaiju War. We got complacent fightin' 'em, they evolved new tactics and abilities an' took out a slew of Jaegers."

"Perhaps… but what kind of advantage do these new behaviors serve?" He chewed his lower lip as he considered. "It could be to put us off-guard… or to distract us while the Precursors set up a trap. It's hard to know without more information."

"You got a plan for gettin' more info?"

"I have a few ideas. The Jaegers are going to start doing regular patrols of their coastlines… and the next time one of them comes across a Kaiju - and provided the Kaiju doesn't immediately attack them - they're going to shoot it with a radio tag. That'll hopefully help us track their movements and figure out what they're doing under the ocean."

"What happened to our sensory network?" Herc asked. "Thought we could track those buggers already."

"Unfortunately, the network was shut down after the last Breach was closed," Tendo replied. "Short-sighted of us… but we'll get it reactivated. It will take time, however, so the radio tags will be a stopgap measure until they get it up and running again."

"An' when we find the new underwater base or breedin' ground or whatnot… what then?"

"Then the Jaegers will gather in force again. We've closed two Breaches and destroyed one base already… we can do the same here. Prevent another war before it has a chance to start."

Herc nodded. "Whatcha want us to do in the meantime?"

"Keep an eye on your coastlines, and keep training. Get the Jaegers and Rangers used to their modified Conn Pods, and back in fighting shape. I'm hoping we can end this quickly, but… in case it's not that simple, I want us as prepared as possible."

"Gotcha, Marshal. Herc out."

The Ranger's face vanished as he cut off the video call. Tendo stared at the "disconnected" message for a few minutes before sighing and closing the laptop. Every appearance of these new Kaiju just baffled him even more. He hoped that the creatures would establish some pattern of behavior, some means by which they could predict future encounters, but the monsters of the Breach seemed bound and determined to defy their expectations at every turn.

Hopefully tagging the creatures would provide some answers. If nothing else, they could pinpoint a location. Even if there wasn't a base or a Breach, there might at least be a den of some kind. And it would be far easier to corral the Kaiju to one area and wipe them out all at once than hunt them to the far corners of the ocean.

He had just stood to take a quick coffee break when his phone buzzed. Uttering yet another sigh, he picked it up. "Marshal Choi speaking."

"_Marshal, Coyote reporting," _came the reply. _"Urgent news."_

_Oh God, not now, _he thought, stifling a groan. "It can't be a Kaiju… unless the alarms aren't working…"

"_Not a Kaiju. It's Tacit. He wants to speak to you at your earliest convenience."_

* * *

Tacit Ronin was a striking-looking Jaeger, white with black detailing and a sleek, angular body that suggested speed over brute strength. His legs were bent backwards halfway down the calf, giving him the appearance of being double-jointed. Anti-Kaiju guns bristled from the sides of his chest, and heavy blades hung from his lower arms. And his armor gleamed from a repaint and a recent polish, as if the maintenance crews had somehow known the Marshal would be here and had done their best to make him look presentable.

Tendo Choi sucked in a sharp breath as he entered the hangar, a sudden wave of sorrow sweeping over him. Despite the grace and power radiating from the titanic chassis, the Mark I exuded an aura of grief and despair that even he could pick up on. He could only imagine how much more intense it felt to a Jaeger or a Ranger.

Coyote rested a hand on his shoulder. _"He wishes to speak to you alone. I will leave you to talk. Call out if you need me." _And she walked out.

Tendo gazed up at Tacit, waiting for the Jaeger to make the first move in initiating conversation. What could he want, he wondered. Was he finally ready to attempt drifting with a new set of Rangers? Or did he want to be returned to his home Shatterdome, Rangers or no Rangers? Or worse, to Oblivion Bay to be reduced to scrap? He had always insisted on honoring the wishes of the Jaegers, no matter what they might be… but what if those wishes involved self-destruction?

When Tacit finally spoke, he didn't make use of the vocalizer - instead his words slid into Tendo's mind, soft and surprisingly gentle for such a titan.

_You may come closer, Tendo Choi. I won't hurt you._

Tendo took a step closer. "I just didn't want to invade your personal space."

_The technicians and maintenance crews do that all the time. I care little for personal space right now, as long as I can be alone in my own mind._

"I see… should I send Coyote back home? Is having her around not helping?"

_No… it helps, having a sympathetic listener. I just want to be alone sometimes too. To remember my Rangers, and process everything that's happened. It's… rather a shame that you won the war without me. Twice, even._

"We lost many Jaegers and Rangers over the years," Tendo noted. "If we had known earlier that so many of you were gaining sentience, we would have done more to save your kind."

_That's the past. We can't change it… only move on from it. _A pause. _You… have done so much for the Jaeger program, I've heard. Coyote speaks very highly of you._

"I… thank you." He had no idea Coyote thought that much of him. Then again, Coyote wasn't especially open with anyone save Crimson…

_Yet… you've done much of that alone. You seem lonely._

That, Tendo couldn't argue with. Oh, he had plenty of acquaintances among the Jaeger program, and had enjoyed a good rapport with most of the officers and Rangers as a tech monkey. His promotion to Marshal had alienated him from most of them, however, not to mention cut him off entirely from many of his old friends from his street days. He was respected and liked in the Shatterdome, but leadership was a lonely business, and he barely had time to get the rest and meals he needed to keep functioning, let alone socialize.

"To be honest… there's been too much for me to do to focus on my social life," he admitted. "Someone has to take charge-"

_Just because you're in charge doesn't mean you have to be lonely. _

Tendo frowned. "What are you getting at?" And why was Tacit so worried about him, when for so long the Shatterdome had been concerned about Tacit's loneliness? He couldn't seriously be…

_Tendo Choi… I've made my choice for one of my Rangers. And it's you._

Tendo stared up at the white Jaeger, blinking back his shock. "You can't be serious. I'm not a Ranger. I've never even trained! And I have too many other responsibilities, I couldn't possibly-"

_You are a warrior, every bit as much as any Ranger or Jaeger. We may have fought the Kaiju on their own ground, but you fought them from the LOCCENT. And you stood up for us, fought for us, even when so many had given us up for so much scrap metal. You have proven yourself a hero… and I couldn't think of anyone better to accompany me into battle._

"I'm the Marshal, though… I have duties…"

_Tendo… if you don't want to be my Ranger, just say so. I will look elsewhere. Just know that I would be honored to have you as a pilot… and as a member of my family._

Tendo knew he should say no. He had too many duties as it was, and Tacit Ronin deserved a Ranger who could devote as much time as possible to him. It wouldn't be fair to stick him with a Ranger who would be absent much of the time. And being a Ranger on top of everything else would only add to Tendo's own workload.

But despite his brain insisting he say no, his heart had an entirely different answer. How many times had he witnessed a Jaeger/Ranger relationship and felt a pang of jealousy at the strong bond they enjoyed? How many times had he wondered at just how little he could understand of it as an outsider? And Tacit was all too correct on one thing - he was lonely, often desperately so. Perhaps not as lonely as a Jaeger who had lost their pilots to a Kaiju attack… but still lonely enough that he felt it keenly during moments when he wasn't occupied.

He had been fully prepared to accept whoever Tacit chose as a replacement Ranger… and while this choice was the last one he would have ever expected, he knew there was only one possible answer.

"Tacit Ronin, I… I would be honored to be your Ranger."

Tacit's engine thrummed, his entire frame shivering with the force of it. _Thank you, Tendo. This… this means more to me than you can know._

Tendo's eyes burned, and he had to blink back a few tears. "I have a feeling I'll know soon enough. Once you pick a second Ranger, we'll perform a drift to make it official-"

_No… drift now. Please. I don't want to wait._

"Tacit, a drift with one person is almost always fatal-"

_You won't be alone in the drift. You'll have me. Two minds making the connection strong enough to bear. Trust me._

He hesitated… then nodded. It wasn't as if single-Ranger drifts were unprecedented - both Pentecost and Raleigh had managed them, albeit under extreme circumstances. And Caitlin and Brawler performed single-Ranger runs all the time, as did Circe and Mammoth. He wasn't sure if a drift between a human and a Jaeger who hadn't achieved full mobility yet would work the same… but they would never know unless they tried it.

He was Tacit's Ranger now. It was time he put his trust in him.

He touched his earpiece. "Bishop, get the LOCCENT ready. We're about to attempt a neural handshake on Tacit Ronin."


	8. Lost and Found

_ATTENTION ALL JAEGERS AND RANGERS_

_Effective immediately, all Jaegers will return to their Shatterdomes of origin. With Kaiju landfall imminent, effective coverage of all Pacific Rim coastlines is of paramount importance. Any Jaeger teams not found in compliance with this order within 72 hours will be disciplined._

_The exception to this order will be Tacit Ronin, originally from the Tokyo Shatterdome, who will remain at Hong Kong with his Ranger, Marshal Tendo Choi. Any other Jaegers who wish to transfer Shatterdomes will be required to submit a request to Marshal Choi and wait for approval._

_All possible haste is recommended. The world is counting on the Jaegers. We will not let them down._

_Marshal Choi_

Sasha considered deleting the memo, as it had absolutely no effect on their team - they were already well-settled into their old haunt at the Vladivostok Shatterdome, not gallivanting about elsewhere. Instead she filed the e-mail into her "PPDC" folder. She made it a habit to save any e-mail that looked remotely important, in case she missed a vital bit of information in her first read-through.

"_Gipsy's not going to like that."_

Sasha looked down at the little Jaeger, who had pulled himself up to peer at her computer over the edge of the desk - and was warping the wood with his weight in the process. "Cherno, we have talked about you reading my e-mails."

"_I already got a copy." _He tapped at the side of his Conn Pod, indicating his computer core. _"I'm sure Papa did too. And we're a team. We don't have many secrets in the drift."_

"True. But all three of us still deserve some measure of privacy." She poked his Conn Pod lightly, earning a metallic giggle. "Ask next time you want to read something I receive, even if you already have a copy, okay?"

"_Okay."_

"Now what is Gipsy not going to like about this newest order?"

"_She wants to move to Sydney to be with Striker."_

Sasha frowned. She had known that Gipsy and Striker had grown very close, but not that they were already "moving in together," so to speak. She had to wonder just what Chuck and Raleigh made of their relationship - given that the two young men got along about as well as gasoline and a lit match, they couldn't be too happy that their Jaegers were romantically involved. As romantically involved as giant mecha could get, anyhow.

"Tendo is not going to allow that. Gipsy is needed in Anchorage. They are already spread far too thin among the Americas."

"_We're spread far too thin everywhere," _Cherno pointed out. _"And Gipsy knows she has a duty to Anchorage… but she loves Striker. Isn't there a way they can be together? Like stationing Mustang Omega or Tacit Ronin in Anchorage instead?"_

Sasha sighed and rubbed the top of Cherno's Conn Pod. "Mustang and Tacit need to remain with their Rangers… and their Rangers are already stationed at headquarters. They can't move as easily as other Jaegers."

"_Is there a rule saying the headquarters HAVE to be in Hong Kong?" _demanded Cherno. _"Can't they move them to Anchorage, or a coast city in South America, or somewhere on that coastline?"_

Sasha didn't have a ready response for that. Hong Kong had served as a sort of unofficial home base for the Jaeger program ever since Operation Pitfall, even as the Jaegers had spread out across the world. As far as Sasha knew, there was no reason to keep their headquarters there… and Newt and Hermann could conduct their studies anywhere in the world. Tendo probably had to remain in Hong Kong as the Marshal of that Shatterdome, but that didn't mean Mustang couldn't be relocated.

She didn't say any of this aloud, however. "That's up to Tendo to decide. And perhaps he will be willing to accommodate Gipsy's request. But he has to act in the best interests of the entire world, not just an individual's wish."

Cherno let go of her desk and folded his arms over his chest, whining softly. _"That doesn't seem fair."_

"No, it isn't," she acknowledged. "When humanity built the Jaegers, they never stopped to think that they may wish to have lives beyond protecting our world. Perhaps… perhaps once these Kaiju have been destroyed, that can change. Some of you can be retired, and allowed to live civilian lives."

Cherno's body wasn't built in a fashion that would allow him to shake his head, but he managed to convey the gesture by rocking his reactor tower slightly back and forth. _"No, Mama. We still want to protect humanity. And the Kaiju aren't going to go away anytime soon. I just wish there could be a way for Gipsy and Striker to be together. And Coyote and Crimson - I don't think Crimson's happy that she's going back to Tokyo."_

"I doubt he is either. I wish there was an easy solution, little one. But… this war won't last forever. It's possible that, once the Kaiju are dealt with, Tendo will allow Gipsy to transfer to Sydney until the next Breach opens. He is not an unreasonable leader."

Cherno crooned softly. _"He's a good leader… and a good man. I think Tacit chose well."_

At that, Sasha had to chuckle. The news that Tacit Ronin had chosen Tendo Choi as his new Ranger had stunned all of them… but upon further reflection, she realized that the choice hadn't been as far-fetched as one might think. Tendo had never trained as a Ranger, but he had fought the war in his own way, providing technical support from the LOCCENT and fighting tooth and nail to keep the Jaeger program afloat and the Jaegers themselves from being scrapped. He was respected and liked by all the Jaegers and Rangers, and had sacrificed so much to serve their cause. He was as much a warrior as she and Aleksis… and if Tacit saw him as a perfect match, then she supported his choice.

_Besides, Tendo isn't the first without Ranger training to become a Ranger. Though the circumstances behind Mustang's team are unique to say the least._

"We are all happy for Tacit Ronin and Marshal Choi," she told Cherno. "I look forward to fighting alongside him."

"_Me too… and I'm looking forward to getting to know Tacit. I wonder what he's like." _Cherno peered at the computer screen again. _"Are you updating the blog again?"_

"You little snoop," Sasha scolded, though she laughed and patted his reactor tower again. "Yes, I am uploading more photos."

"_The ones from the Conn Pod?"_

"Yes, I got permission from Marshal Terekhov to do so." Cherno's larger body was still considered military equipment, and the Marshal had the right to veto photos of its interior if he thought it would violate regulations. Thankfully, Terekhov had stated that Cherno deserved bodily autonomy and had allowed photos.

"_Can I see which ones you chose?"_

Sasha clicked another tab, revealing the Instagram blog where she and Aleksis routinely uploaded photos of Cherno Alpha. It had started as a hobby, nothing more… but the blog had exploded in popularity, gaining thousands of followers who loved nothing more than to gush excitedly over pictures of the little Jaeger. Evidently there was something about a miniature Jaeger performing human activities - splashing in puddles after a rainstorm, playing with action figures, snuggling under the covers as his father read him a story - that just connected with people on an unexpectedly deep level.

Cherno trilled in laughter as Sasha scrolled through the photos she had chosen. A few were of Cherno sitting stoically in his new cockpit, wired in and ready to go… but after their practice run the three of them had taken a few casual photos, relaxed and even playful as they showed off the interior of the Conn Pod. There was even a photo of Aleksis sitting in Cherno's seat in the cockpit, his towering frame having to fold in awkward ways to fit.

"_Papa's silly," _he crooned.

"Don't tell him that," Sasha replied. "He has a reputation to uphold." But she clicked to upload that photo anyhow. Let the world see Team Cherno Alpha in a relaxed and goofy moment. There would be far too few of those in the near future.

* * *

Eerie, nerve-rending cries rang through the ocean depths - the sound of a pod of whales responding to a terrifying new menace. The great leviathans of the deep scattered in all directions, their discordant wails vibrating through the water and rattling the bones of any creature unfortunate enough to be in hearing range. Some bore ragged flukes and flippers that left streaks of crimson in their wake, and a few bled freely from wounds in their long, sleek bodies. They seemed heedless of their wounds, however, as they sought to put as much distance between themselves and their fearsome attacker as possible.

They were no longer the largest creatures in the ocean… and the beasts that had supplanted them weren't content to leave them alone.

A clawed hand closed around a huge, ancient whale with a torn fluke that lagged behind the rest of the pod, and its shriek of agony was cut short by a clench of talons. A double set of jaws opened, then sank into the creature's barnacle-flecked hide.

Raiju's inner jaws contorted in a grimace of disgust, though he kept tearing at the whale. Had his thoughts been actual words rather than emotions and images, they would have translated to something along the lines of _ugh, this tastes disgusting… are these things just solid fat and bone or what? _

He was tempted to spit the remains out and leave them for the sharks. But if Onibaba caught him wasting food she would nip him with her pincers - or alert Slattern, who would clobber him again. He didn't want to be nipped or clobbered, and despite his distaste at eating a whale, his stomach was crying out to be filled. So he choked down the rest of the carcass, opting to wipe his muzzle with his forepaws instead of licking his lips.

His stomach lurched, and his back arched as he fought not to retch up bits of whale meat. Was his digestive system going to eject this meal too, like it had the kelp and the giant squid? But his guts finally settled, and Raiju plodded off, satisfied for the moment. Now if he could just catch one of those critters to feed the little one, he'd be set… for awhile, at least.

When the Kaiju had escaped the Masters' clutches and fled to this world, they had quickly learned that there were a multitude of aspects to their newfound freedom they hadn't considered. And one of those aspects was the fact that, shockingly enough, creatures had to eat to sustain themselves. Kaiju in the past had never lasted long enough to need to feed - they merely rampaged until they were killed by missiles, a Jaeger, or a combination of both. They were living weapons, nothing more.

The sustenance problem had never even occurred to the sentient Kaiju - breaking free of their creators and crossing between worlds was their first priority. But now, with hunger pangs and weakness plaguing them more surely than any Jaeger, they were desperate to fill their stomachs and find some way to fuel their bodies. Trespasser had even gotten ravenous enough to swallow rocks from the sea floor - a decision that had left her writhing in agony for two days straight.

Raiju should have been looking after Otachi's baby at the moment. But he'd just been too hungry to focus, and the cub had been squalling with hunger pangs of its own for what seemed like hours. He'd finally left the poor thing in a crevice with a piece of shipwreck to play with while he lumbered off to find some likely prey. It was for both their own goods, he told himself - the cub needed to eat too, and he'd be in much better shape to do his job with something in his stomach.

The whales were long gone by now, but the scent of blood had attracted a number of sharks. He managed to snag a handful of them, popping one of them in his mouth before heading back. They would do, he hoped.

He crested a rise and approached the crevice… and felt his gut heave, nearly ejecting the barely-digested whale all over the place. The hatchling was gone.

_Oh, sludge, _he whimpered, and released the half-dead sharks and began to sniff around. _Okay, okay, don't panic, he couldn't have gone far… it's a cub, it was just born, it's got short legs, it's not gonna just hitch a ride on the nearest current and float away, is it?_

He caught a thread of scent and began to follow it, snout pressed to the ocean floor as he prowled after the trail. When he caught the hatchling he was going to give it a sound thrashing - a gentle one, of course - for spooking him like this. If he could just find it before Otachi got off patrol…

His muzzle bumped into a pair of wing-knuckles, and his gaze slid up the slate-blue body to stare into the prong-snouted face of Otachi. Her yellow eyes blinked slowly as she regarded him, while he simply hunched his back and squatted low as if hoping to merge with the rocks at his feet.

_What are you doing? _she demanded.

_Uh… smelling rocks? _It was the truth, even if it wasn't the full description of his activities.

_Only you would make a habit of smelling rocks for fun, _she noted acidly. _Where is my cub?_

_Uh… it's… around here… somewhere…_

Otachi stared at him for a long moment before throwing her head back and screaming, the horrific sound reverberating through the water until Raiju was sure the bugs could hear it on every coastline. Her tail lashed, pincers clenching and unclenching like a second mouth, and a hellish blue light boiled up in her throat.

_You LOST MY CUB, you incompetent IDIOT! _

_I-I-I was gonna find it again… _Raiju stammered, slinking back.

Otachi whirled, her tail lashing Raiju across the face. He squealed and backpedaled to avoid a second blow, but she paid him no more attention. She stalked off, howling, calling out for the cub… and alerting every other Kaiju just what he'd managed to do in his utter stupidity.

_You lost our cub?! _Mutavore roared, storming closer.

_Who could have predicted that having the dumb one watch the cub would end like this? _Onibaba growled. _Though honestly, how hard is it to watch an infant…_

Slattern stormed closer, eyes narrowed as she glared at the double-jawed Kaiju. She said nothing… but her thoughts simmered close to the surface, frothing with rage and disgust and a gnawing worry.

Raiju hunkered low, whimpering. _If you're gonna kill me, do it quick, please… don't make it hurt too much..._

_I'm not going to kill you, fool, _Slattern told him. _Though I've half a mind to turn you over to Claw-Tail and Chin-Eye and let them discipline you as they see fit._

He cringed. _Please, don't…_

_I'm not doing anything of the sort, _she replied. _We need every set of eyes possible to find the cub. Where did you see it last? _

Raiju pointed to the crevice. Knifehead stalked closer and lowered his snout to snuff at the cleft in the rocky floor, then jerked the massive bony point of his muzzle off to the east.

_The scent leads that way… towards the currents._

Otachi let out a low moan. _If a current took my cub, it could be a long way away by now. If anything has happened to it, let me gut Raiju, please…_

_No one is gutting anyone! _Slattern snapped. _We are sentient beings now, not animals. We will not slaughter each other like animals. Raiju will face punishment… but not death. That is final._

Raiju went limp with relief, even as Otachi shot him a death glare.

_Let's follow the current, _Mutavore insisted. _Find the cub before something terrible happens to it. The longer we wait, the farther it gets from us._

Slattern nodded. _I will go. Claw-Tail, Old One, Big-Snout, come with me. Everyone else will stay here. Trespasser, you're in charge until I get back._

Trespasser nodded her great crested head. _Yes, Slattern._

Raiju stayed hunched down until Slattern and the three Kaiju she had chosen to accompany her vanished into the depths. He hoped with all his strength that they found the cub… that nothing happened to them on their mission due to his carelessness… and most of all that Mutavore didn't decide to ignore Slattern's order and shred him limb from limb while she was gone.

* * *

"So we've got Milo in the labs, Doug and his family in the mechanics' quarters, Padre in the Marshal's quarters… we missing anyone?" Fiona asked.

"Make sure Murphy gets a room with a window," Jako told her, jabbing a finger at the blueprints that took up part of Hydra Corinthian's readout screen. "He gets moody if he don't get a window. Messes up his kung fu or somethin'."

"_I thought it was called Feng Shui, the whole 'room layout' thing," _Hydra cut in. _"Kung fu was the martial art."_

"Eh, somethin' like that," Jako muttered, waving his extra hand in the general direction of Hydra's computer core. "You knew what I meant, mates. Just make sure he gets a window."

"Window room for Murphy, check." Fiona marked the name off a clipboard. "So who we got left? Yukon wants to sleep outside, the dork… who's gonna tell him this is Panama, not Canada, he's gonna freakin' melt out there?"

"Eh, let 'im sweat out a night an' reserve a room with the biggest AC unit for him when he comes to his senses," Jako laughed. "He's a dork, but we love him anyhow."

Hydra Corinthian rumbled a laugh deep in his engines as he continued to walk, the surf frothing around his shins as he navigated the coastline of Baja California. Fiona and Jako hadn't stopped talking since he'd began the long journey from Seattle to Panama City, and he found he didn't mind it in the least. He enjoyed their company, and thrilled at the fact that they spoke to him as an equal, not just a piece of equipment or a trained animal to be patted on the head and dismissed as a cute novelty, nothing more.

Caitlin Lightcap had been appalled at Team Hydra's insistence that Hydra walk the entire distance to the Panama City Shatterdome. It was entirely against protocol, she complained, and would inflict unnecessary wear and tear on Hydra's chassis. It would be much easier and faster for him to take a ship, or even for a team of Jumphawks to fly him out.

Fiona and Jako's response had been to laugh hysterically and tell Hydra to gear up for a hike. Caitlin had tried to stop them, but they had argued that they needed to spend as much time in Hydra's cockpit as possible, both to continue to aid his development and to get used to being in his Conn Pod while he moved about. As much as Caitlin wanted to argue with them, she couldn't exactly refuse them when they put it that way.

Honestly, Hydra didn't regret a moment of this crazy road trip. True, neither Fiona nor Jako had shut up for the entire ride, and they'd had to make frequent pit stops for food and other necessary biological functions, but somehow that was just part of the fun. And they'd have stories to tell when they finally got to Panama City.

One of the down sides to being stationed in the Panama City Shatterdome, however, was that they were inheriting a mess. Panama's Shatterdome had been shut down for years, and while efforts had been made to clean it up and refurbish it for Hydra's arrival, it still lacked a Marshal, technicians, scientific division, or anything beyond the barest skeleton staff of workers. And somehow, hiring a new team to fill in those gaps had fallen by the sidelines, especially with the sudden arrival of new Kaiju in the Pacific.

Fiona and Jako's reaction hadn't been to complain or pitch a fit. Rather, they were of the school of "if you want it done right, do it yourself." And they proceeded to fill in the gaps in the staff by calling in friends and family members of their own - some from their old home in Sydney, others old gamer friends. By the time they got to Panama, there would be an eager, if unorthodox, full staff to keep the Shatterdome running.

"Hydra, how you doin' out there?" Fiona asked, looking up from the blueprints of the Panama Shatterdome.

"_Just rollin' along," _he replied. _"Well, walkin', more like it. You two need me to make a pit stop?"_

"Nah, we're fine," Jako replied. "Though in a coupla hours we may have ya stop at a town with a hotel with free wi-fi. Gotta do a stream tonight so our followers don't think we up an' died."

Hydra rumbled in amusement. _"You didn't think to tell our watchers that we'd be on the road for a bit an' might miss a few nights?"_

"Hey, we've done streamed games through earthquakes, typhoons, an' Kaiju attacks," Jako laughed. "We ain't gonna let a lil' thing like hikin' to Panama get in our way!"

Hydra laughed again. _"Is hotel wi-fi even strong enough to stream from?"_

"We'll find a way," Fiona told him, grinning her typical deranged-but-cute grin. "We always do."

"_Heh… y' always do, Fiona. Whatcha streamin' tonight?"_

"It's probably _Soul Caliber _night," Fiona replied. "I get to be Yoda this time."

"You're always Yoda," Jako complained. "Let me be the short Jedi this time and you play a character actually from that franchise..."

Hydra had just stepped to one side to skirt a reef, but paused, one foot still raised. Something had moved out further in the depths - a swirl of bluish light just under the surface of the water. A school of tropical fish, perhaps, or scuba divers performing an exercise? Or something worse?

His CPU wanted to reason that it had to be one of the former… but his instincts screamed the latter. Blue bioluminescence against dark shapes meant Kaiju. And Kaiju meant death, destruction, buildings reduced to wreckage, fangs and claws tearing through metal, azure ichor staining armor and earth and water…

"Hydra, what is it?" Jako demanded, cutting off his rambling about the fighting capabilities of the various _Soul Caliber _fighters. "Somethin' wrong?"

"_I saw somethin'," _he murmured, setting his foot down and spreading his legs in a wrestler's stance, hands raised. _"It looked Kaiju-ish."_

"Oh shit, we're seein' action already." Fiona's voice was taut with a mix of excitement and dread as she tossed her clipboard aside and hurried for the pilot's harness. "Let's kick its ass!"

"Take its head back to Panama with us for a trophy!" Jako cackled. "Hope it's a big 'un!"

Hydra scraped one foot along the ocean floor like a bull preparing to charge, his optical sensors fixed on the swirl of blue as it circled closer. Images of the Kaiju he'd faced in the past flickered through his CPU, as well as the more infamous beasts from his databanks - Otachi, Leatherback, Slattern, Trespasser, Karloff, Armada. Would this be a replica of one of those monsters, or something new and even more terrifying? Would it spit acid, or shut him down with a burst of energy, or shoot spines? The possibilities became even more exciting and horrifying the longer he waited for his foe to emerge.

The waters churned, and a head broke the surface of the water with a high screech.

Hydra gave a huff of his engines and lowered his hands. _"Well, that was bloody anticlimactic."_

"Oh, you gotta be kiddin' me!" Jako growled, throwing all three hands in the air.

Flailing through the water towards the white Jaeger was a Kaiju… a Kaiju the size of a house, as opposed to the skyscraper-sized beasts that normally menaced Earth's shores. Oversized eyes stared out of a snub-nosed face, and bright blue lines of bioluminescence marked a stormcloud-gray body that looked curiously soft like that of a plush toy. A bright blue tongue lolled from a set of jaws lined with tiny baby teeth, and the growls and hisses emerging from those jaws sounded more like a particularly bold puppy than anything monstrous.

"Is that… a baby Kaiju?" asked Fiona, staring through the reinforced glass of Hydra's cockpit.

"_I think it is," _Hydra replied. _"Slattern, Otachi, an' Raiju all get confirmed as having come back, and we get the runt. Brilliant."_

The little Kaiju rasped a tiny roar and lunged, clamping its jaws on Hydra's shin and gnawing ineffectively. Hydra just stared down at the cub, completely unimpressed. The creature was trying its hardest, but it was like watching a Chihuahua trying to bring down an elephant.

"It's so CUTE!" Fiona squealed. "Can we keep it?"

"Fiona, hun, I dunno how smart that is," Jako admitted, rubbing the back of his head with his third hand. "This is a Kaiju we're talkin' 'bout. They grow up to be mean, remember?"

"We can train him up right!" Fiona insisted. "We did that with Ozzie, remember? Everyone told us he'd be too vicious to keep, and he was a good pupper until he got sick…"

"Ozzie was a pit bull, darlin'," Jako countered. "This is a lil' bigger an' more dangerous than a pit bull."

"_I dunno, it seems kinda cute," _Hydra admitted, raising his leg. The Kaiju cub had latched on with all four limbs, curled up around his shin and gnawing intently at his armor.

"Let's take him home," Fiona pressed. "If we can tame him, he'll make a good mascot for the Shatterdome. If we can't, then at least we have a live Kaiju for the science teams to study. It's a win-win, right?"

Jako pondered that, cupping his chin with one hand while he planted another on his hip and scratched the top of his head with the third. "Hmmm… don't see nothin' that can go wrong with that plan. Hydra, think you can carry the cub?"

"_Do I think I can carry the cub, he asks," _Hydra chuckled, and he pried the little Kaiju off his leg and wrangled it in his arms. The creature squalled and writhed, but Hydra wrapped his arms tightly around it, and it finally relaxed and grumbled irritably in his grip.

"Hell yeah, first live capture of a Kaiju," Jako cackled. "That's gotta be a record, huh? Let's get 'im home."

"_Roger-dodger," _Hydra replied, and he set off at a brisk walk, the baby Kaiju still secure in his grip.


	9. Unorthodox Methods

"Are you okay, Newt?"

Newt didn't even look up from his coffee, but he held up a hand for a high-five anyhow. "Heyyyyyyy, an assistant who finally calls me by my name. Hermann, we're keepin' this one."

Hermann rolled his eyes. "Yasmin Ansari has been working here for the past week, Newton. How have you missed her?"

"Hey, hush, I've been a little preoccupied." Newt downed the rest of his coffee before looking up at their new assistant. "Uh… hi, I guess."

"Hello, Newt," she greeted. For a moment Newt wondered whether this was really their new lab assistant or if it was Take Your Daughter To Work Day. Yasmin looked incredibly young to him, with a pretty heart-shaped face and bright amber eyes behind dark-framed glasses. She wore a long-sleeved T-shirt with an image of the Kaiju Karloff emblazoned on it, a long jeans skirt, and a maroon headscarf wrapped around her hair and throat, with a white lab coat thrown hastily over the ensemble as if to lend her an air of credibility.

"Uh… when did we start hiring straight outta high school?" he asked.

Hermann raised a hand to his forehead while Yasmin laughed. "I'm actually twenty-eight, Newt, but thank you for the compliment. I graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in microbiology, and it's been my dream to work with the best scientists in the Jaeger program!"

"Score!" Newt whooped, high-fiving her again. "Someone appreciates our genius, Hermann! Though… Kaiju are a little big for your line of study, aren't they?"

"I'm adaptable," Yasmin assured him. "And if you ever need a hand studying the microorganisms the Kaiju must host - gut flora, for example - perhaps I can be of service."

Newt nodded, liking this new girl more and more every second. "That's really good. We've never really studied their internal systems much beyond 'what's the best place to punch,' but no better time than the present, huh?"

"I hardly see how that's a prior-" Hermann began.

A jangling crash drowned out the rest of Hermann's sentence, followed by a wail of dismay. Newt shoved himself to his feet and ran towards the supply closet, Yasmin close on his heels, to see Mustang Omega sprawled on the floor, a cardboard box upended on his chest and shards of glass scattered atop and around him.

"Mustang!"

'_I'm okay, I'm okay!" _the Jaeger insisted, sitting up from amidst the wreckage of broken glassware. _"I'm sorry! I thought I had the box but it fell on top of me and I lost my balance…"_

"It's okay, Mustang!" Newt gingerly plucked the box off of him. "Maybe we shouldn't be keeping the test tubes on a top shelf anyhow. Yasmin, wanna get me a broom?"

She nodded and hurried off. Newt grabbed a cloth and used it to brush some of the broken glass off the Jaeger as he rose to his feet. Mustang's shoulders hunched in embarrassment, and he kept babbling apologies as he shook glittering fragments out of his joints and plating.

"_I'm really sorry."_

"Hey, it's all right," Newt assured him. "No one's mad at you. Promise."

"_I embarrassed myself in front of the new lab tech, didn't I?" _Mustang fussed, fidgeting his fingers together. _"I'm such a klutz…"_

"You're not a klutz!" Newt insisted. "You're one of the most graceful Jaegers out there! You make Striker Eureka look like Jar Jar Binks!"

"Don't let him hear you say that," Hermann grumbled as he approached them, knocking half a test tube aside with his cane. "But don't fret so, dear-heart. I know you want to make a good first impression on everyone here, but you don't need to worry so much about it. The important people like you, and that's what matters."

"I like you," Yasmin chimed in, appearing with the broom. "And honestly, that fall only proves to me that you Jaegers are only human. In a manner of speaking."

Mustang trilled softly, ducking his Conn Pod. _"Thanks, Yasmin."_

"No problem. I can clean this up while you three get back to your studies."

"Oh man, that'd be awesome," Newt replied. "I know it's not the best use of your degree, but…"

"I'm an assistant," she told him. "Let me assist. Even if it's just cleaning up a mess." And she stepped forward and began sweeping, rounding up the glass shards into a manageable pile.

Mustang trilled again as he and his Rangers returned to their workstations. _"I like her."_

"Me too," Newt replied, though he couldn't shake a gnawing sense of discomfort over that fact. The last Shatterdome worker he'd grown fond of - a young woman not too dissimilar from Yasmin, come to think of it - had turned out to be a spy for the Kaiju Cultists, and had nearly killed Cherno Alpha before she was uncovered and stopped. He knew the odds of the microbiologist being a cultist were low - the vetting process had become much more stringent since then - but all the same he couldn't help but worry.

_Aw, stop it, _he told himself. _Take a melatonin pill tonight. Lack of sleep's making you as paranoid as Hermann anymore._

As if on cue, Mustang spoke up again as Newt settled back down at his workbench. _"Are you still having the dreams, Uncle Newt?"_

"Yeah," he admitted. No use lying to your Jaeger, really - being a Ranger to a sentient Jaeger essentially meant that you were in a constant, albeit low-level, drift with them. You could sense their moods and even their thoughts to some degree, which was extremely handy seeing as they didn't have physical faces to emote with… but the bond was two-way, which meant the Jaeger could read your thoughts and moods as well.

"_Still about Kaiju?" _he asked.

"Yeah. Not as bad, though - just them wandering around the bottom of the ocean." He pushed his "World's Best Xenobiologist" mug - a gag gift from Mustang last Christmas - aside and reached for a lump of Kaiju cartilage. "Hand me a scalpel?"

Mustang nodded and offered him the tool. _"Have you told the Marshal?"_

Newt nodded as he carved slices from the hunk of Kaiju tissue, setting them aside to prepare for further study. "He just said to alert him if it looked like they were doing anything out of the ordinary. Well, we're not gonna know THAT until we get a chance to study their behavior a little better… but if it looks like they're doing something dangerous I'll let him know. Slides?."

Mustang handed the slides over. _"Is it frightening? Seeing what they're doing?"_

"Aw nah," Newt assured him. "To be honest, getting bits of Precursor thoughts in the drift was more disturbing. Seeing Kaiju at night is actually kinda awesome. Like I'm a Kaiju-watcher who finally gets to see them in their natural habitat." He pulled a slide over and started prepping it. "I know naturalists will probably tell me I'm doing it wrong, but… I've kinda started giving them personalities in my head, you know?"

"_Why is that doing it wrong?"_

"Because anthropomorphizing the creatures you're observing is the surest way to draw the wrong conclusions regarding their behavior," Hermann put in, not looking up from his computer.

"Hey, he wasn't asking you!" Newt shot back. "And what's wrong with athropopo-whatever-ing monsters that everyone else just wants dead anyhow?"

"_What personalities do you see them as having?" _asked Mustang, burning with curiosity and ignoring Hermann's interjection entirely.

"Well, the Slattern clone I kinda see as their leader," he admitted. "Maybe that's just 'cause she's the biggest of the Kaiju, but to me she seems to be the boss, the pack leader. Otachi's an protective mother - partly because of her cub I guess. Onibaba - that's the crab-looking one - I think of as kinda a grumpy grandma type, and Mutavore… I dunno why, but he seems to be a gentle-giant type. Well, gentle-giant when he's not squashing buildings, I guess…"

"For the last time, Newton, stop humanizing the Kaiju," Hermann huffed. "You're just making it all the harder for Mustang to face them in battle. Is he really going to try to stop a Kaiju you've made out to be some kind of loving mother or crotchety grandmother?"

"Hey, it's just for fun," Newt insisted. "It's not like Kaiju even have personalities in the first place, right?"

"_What about the baby?" _asked Mustang.

"I dunno… very little kids don't really show much personality at first," Newt admitted. "Or they don't seem like they would - I dunno, I've never had a kid. Besides you, Mustang. Though you showed plenty of personality that first day, so I could be wrong."

Mustang chirped in a soft laugh. _"You think of me as your kid?"_

"Well yeah, why wouldn't I?" Newt smiled and rested a hand on Mustang's arm. "Maybe your first Rangers got you started on the road to being sentient, but I still think of myself as a parent to you."

"_Aw gosh… that means a lot to me-"_

"Good God!"

Newt and Mustang whirled to face Hermann, who had slammed his laptop shut and was pushing himself to his feet, cursing softly under his breath.

"Dude, you hate the mushy talk that much?"

"No… but it looks like you're about to find out if that Kaiju infant has a personality," Hermann retorted. "Hydra Corinthian found the juvenile off the coast of Baja California… and they were able to capture it without injury. It's being held in the Panama City Shatterdome as we speak."

Newt's jaw dropped, and his pulse quickened as the ramifications of this news sank in. A live capture of a Kaiju… the first in the history of the Kaiju War. A living specimen in the custody of the Jaeger Program, just waiting to be studied up-close. More secrets regarding their kind to be unlocked, more puzzles to be solved… all half a world away, in the hands of the Panama Jaeger Program.

"Marshal Choi is leaving it up to our discretion whether we want to go-" began Hermann.

"Hey Yasmin!" Newt shouted, leaning back in his chair to call out in the direction of the supply closet. "How's your Spanish?"

"Passable, why?" she called back.

"Finish that up and go pack a bag!" he shot back. "We're goin' on an adventure!"

* * *

"Has anyone told you yet that you're insane, Team Hydra?" Tendo asked.

"All th' buggin' time," Jako replied with a grin. "But I gotta admit, this was pretty nuts even for us."

Tendo couldn't argue with that. The Jaeger program thrived on unorthodox thinking - it was such thinking that ended up winning many of their battles, and had ensured the Jaegers a permanent place in society rather than an undignified end in Oblivion Bay. Still, a Jaeger team capturing a live Kaiju and taking it back to their Shatterdome was a first, one that even Stacker Pentecost might have raised an eyebrow at.

Tendo leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing deeply. It wasn't even nine in the morning and he already needed a stiff drink. He could only imagine what the hapless crew of the Panama Shatterdome - the few who remained after that Shatterdome had been gutted and shuttered in the wake of the Jaeger program being shut down for the first time before Operation Pitfall - had thought when Hydra had arrived with his new find.

The mental image of the bulky Jaeger striding into the bay with a squalling Kaiju cub dangling from his arms like a puppy was good for a laugh, at least… and earned a slight chuckle from Tacit in the back of his mind. That laugh helped soften the stress headache building in the back of his skull, even if it didn't abate entirely. He was still getting used to having another presence in his mind, but he was finding it had its advantages.

_I can pull back if you don't like me seeing your thoughts, _Tacit told him. _I'm sorry. It's just been so long…_

_You're just fine, Tacit, _Tendo assured him. _I'm just new to this. Give me a little time to get used to it. _

Tacit pulsed back a feeling that felt like a nod of assent. Tendo couldn't help a full-fledged smile, letting the memory of their first drift briefly wash over him and soothe the shock of this latest news. The drift had been nothing like he'd imagined - he'd heard descriptions of it from Rangers before, but their words couldn't have prepared him for the real thing. Opening his mind so fully to another being - and their mind opening up to his in return - had been overwhelming, indescribable… and an experience he wouldn't have traded for anything else.

Tacit chuckled over their bond. _Well, don't let me distract you from what you need to do. You handle this. I'll still be here when you're done._

_Thank you, Tacit. _

"You've got that loony grin on, Marshal," Fiona noted, drawing his attention back to the video call. "Talkin' to your Jaeger?"

"I am," he replied. "But we're getting off the subject. You three were about to tell me just what the hell possessed you to bring a Kaiju into an underfunded, understaffed Shatterdome."

"It's not our fault Panama didn't do shit to get its Shatterdome into shape," Fiona huffed. "We're handling it. An' the Kaiju was tiny! It can't even dent Hydra's ankles! It's not like we dragged Otachi or Slattern in with us."

"An' it's behavin' itself, don't worry," Jako replied. "It's actually kinda cute. More like an overgrown kitten than a world-wreckin' beastie."

"_You wanna see it, Marshal?" _Hydra asked, and grabbed the webcam and redirected it before Tendo could answer.

The Panama City Shatterdome contained two hangars, one for Hydra Corinthian and one for any backup Jaegers that might be needed to protect Panama and its vulnerable canal. A large water tank, the sort used to display sharks and other big aquatic creatures, took up the spare hangar… and the infant Kaiju rolled and writhed within said tank, clutching a Volkswagon bus in its claws and raking at it with its back feet like a cat playing with a toy. Vehicles, crates, boats, and other junk lay scattered about the bottom of the tank like bizarre shipwrecks, and an incredibly blaise-looking Shatterdome worker hauled a bucket of salmon up a ladder, tipping the fish into the tank before going back down for another load.

"I have so many questions I don't even know where to begin," Tendo groaned.

"Well, Doug - he's our head'a personnel an' supply acquisition - got us the tank," Fiona explained. "Came from a Sea World 'fore they shut 'em all down, I guess. Thing's supposed to be able to stand up to a whole pod'a orcas rammin' the sides. The toys are basically whatever we scrounged up while cleanin' up the grounds. Can you believe people were usin' this Shatterdome to dump their trash 'fore we cleaned up the place?"

"That answers the least burning question, at least," Tendo noted. "Doug… that name doesn't ring any bells. The last head of personnel at the Panama Shatterdome was a Dominic."

"_The only staff left when we got here was some mechanics an' a cleanin' crew," _Hydra explained. _"Fiona an' Jako knew y'all were busy back home, so instead'a pesterin' you to hire more crew, they did some hirin'. Doug's an ol' friend of the family."_

"You… did… your own… hiring," Tendo replied.

"Yup!" Jako began ticking off on his fingers as he rattled off names. "Doug's head'a personnel an' supply acquisition, Milo's our scientist-in-residence, Skyler's his lab assistant, Cesar's our medic, Charlie runs the LOCCENT…"

"And you're sure all these people are qualified?" Tendo demanded.

"Hey, Milo was a PPDC scientist back in the day!" Fiona insisted. "He quit after getting too much shit from his superior - guy hated him for no reason, I swear - but he decided to come back when we offered him the job. An' Charlie's forgotten more 'bout computer systems than you an' I'll ever know. These guys may not have fancy degrees or anythin', but they're qualified."

Tendo opened his mouth to argue, then decided against it and shut it again. He honestly had no right to complain that Team Hydra had gone behind his back in all this. They'd sent Hydra and his Rangers to a neglected Shatterdome, one that had been without proper staff or funding for years. He had fully intended to hire a new staff and ensure the Shatterdome was put to rights as soon as possible, but evidently Fiona and Jako weren't content with sitting back and waiting for the people in charge to solve all their problems. In a way, he had to admire and even respect that.

And honestly, the Jaeger program had a long, grand tradition for bucking the rules and relying on slightly maverick ways of getting things done. Fiona and Jako might be brazen, but if they had the guts and motivation to staff and refurbish their Shatterdome on their own… well, it just proved that they'd fit right in.

Though that was a discussion for another time. "The Kaiju. Again… why?"

Fiona gave a little shrug. "Why not?"

Tendo just gave her a LOOK. "You're going to need a better reason than THAT."

"Fiona's got a habit of pickin' up strays," Jako explained. "I mean, lookit me! You shoulda seen me before she dragged me outta the Sydney slums, mate. But anyhow, she can't help but wanna keep the outcasts - mutants, dogs, lonely folks on the Internet, baby Kaiju…"

"This is a Kaiju, not a stray dog," Tendo reminded him. "It's not going to stay small - well, relatively small - forever."

"Maybe it won't grow up to be a city-killer," Fiona insisted. "Maybe we can tame it! Like a pit bull - they got a reputation for being nasty dogs, but if they're raised right they're sweet as can be. What if it's the same with a Kaiju? And if it's not… well, at least we got a live specimen to study, right?"

Tendo watched the infant Kaiju grab one of the Volkswagon's tires and pry it off in its teeth. "You realize that you walked along the Mexican and Central American coastlines to get here? Do you know how many people might have seen you?"

"Yeah, but Charlie's on that," Jako replied. "He's got bots goin' through social media, taggin' any posts with photos of Hydra an' the Kaiju an' makin' 'em disappear. He's good like that. Helps that he's got buddies on that 'chan' site."

Tacit chuckled in the back of his mind again. _These three are clever, I'll give them that. Keep them around._

_Oh hush, _Tendo retorted, though privately he had to agree. These three were more resourceful than anyone gave them credit for. He just hoped their little stunt hadn't just gotten them into huge trouble.

"This was an incredibly reckless act, I hope you realize," Tendo told the three of them. "But now that you've gone through with it, the most we can do is make the best of it. I have Team Mustang Omega on their way - Dr. Geizler is practically foaming at the mouth for a chance to study a live Kaiju. And you'll need Mustang for backup."

"_I'm not THAT out of practice," _Hydra insisted.

"I never said you were," Tendo replied. "But remember that this Kaiju cub has a mother - Otachi, one of the deadliest Kaiju from the first Kaiju War. And chances are she'll be coming after her young. I'd rather have a second Jaeger there, one who's had experience against a clone of Otachi, than leave you unprotected."

"_Right, right," _Hydra noted. _"Good thinkin'. Thanks, Marshal."_

"In the meantime, keep us updated - both on the Kaiju and on getting your Shatterdome back on its feet. Send us information on the personnel you've hired so we can vet them, and let us know if there's anything you need, whether it's equipment or funding or anything else."

"Can do, Marshal sir," Jako replied, saluting with his third hand. "An' don't worry, everythin's under control here - no, no, don't eat the tires offa that! Those ain't edible!"

The screen went dark at that. Tendo stared at the blank screen for a few minutes before groaning and rubbing his temples.

_Are you all right, Tendo?_

"I'm fine, Tacit," Tendo murmured. "Just… a lot to deal with. Pentecost may have dealt with a lot of things as Marshal, but I guarantee he never had to worry about his crews bringing a live Kaiju into the base. Honestly… what are we going to do with those three?"

_What the Jaeger program has always done with new recruits, _Tacit replied. _You train them, you work around their eccentricities, and you try to rein in their more dangerous behavior the best you can. And in this case… you try to turn the crisis into something positive. Which you just did by sending our scientists out to study the little Kaiju. We can still gain something valuable from all this._

"We can," Tendo acknowledged. "But I can't shake the feeling that we've just poked a hornet's nest in all this."

_With very big hornets, _Tacit noted. _It will work out, Tendo Choi. You have some of the best Rangers, scientists, and personnel working for you. And yes, having a Kaiju actually in one of our Shatterdomes isn't ideal… but it can work to our advantage._

"I hope you're right," Tendo murmured. "Because I can think of a million ways this can blow up in our faces."

_Don't think about them for now. Take a break. Relax a little before you tackle your next big project. I don't want my Ranger burning himself out._

Tendo nodded and put his computer into standby mode before getting up to leave. He'd grab a cup of coffee and go to Tacit Ronin's hangar to pass the time. Though they were always connected in the drift, he somehow felt closer to the Jaeger when in close physical proximity to him. Small wonder so many Rangers spent as much time as possible near their Jaegers… and it was rather amazing how much about the Jaegers and their Rangers made more sense now that he had joined their numbers.

He was so intent on joining Tacit for his coffee break that he didn't notice the flashing reddish light on the bottom of his laptop, where the drone had embedded itself and was quietly absorbing and transmitting data...

* * *

"_An' don't worry, everythin's under control here - no, no, don't eat the tires offa that! Those ain't edible!"_

The video clip ended at that point, but Hannibal Chau hit the replay button and watched it through again as he carved the tip off a cigar with his knife. The footage only allowed him a few glimpses at the juvenile Kaiju… but those glimpses were valuable intel. He'd already harvested dozens of screencaps, sending them to his techs to sharpen the images and study them for anything he could use for his own purposes.

Though the knowledge that Otachi's spawn had reappeared was useful enough on its own. And the sight of the squalling creature writhing around in its tank filled him with both satisfaction and a deep burning loathing.

The eyes of one of the Kaiju statues guarding the door to his office flashed - someone was at the door and had pressed the buzzer. Hannibal didn't even bother getting out of his chair, just pushed a button on his desk to undo the lock.

"Thought I told you idiots not to disturb me in my office," he growled as his chief of distribution walked in.

"Sorry sir, but it's an emergency." The underling, a short man whose thick glasses and oddly birdlike features were strikingly at odds with his facial scars and tattooed arms, gave a little bow of respect. "Our stock of Kaiju wing membrane has run out."

Hannibal blew a plume of smoke at the man, briefly obscuring his features. "You're funnin' me, right?" he demanded. "Thought the second Otachi gave us plenty of that stuff."

"Yes sir, but orders have outstripped our supply," he replied. "Also, we've hit a snag with the live-capture guns. The power supplies have proven to be… unstable. On that note, dissection bay 14 will be unusable for the foreseeable future until repairs can be made."

Hannibal rolled his eyes. "Always somethin' on this job, isn't there? Fill the orders for the highest bidders first an' tell the rest it's on backorder. And move the gun project to bay 9 for now. We lose anybody?"

"No sir, but three men were injured."

"Tell 'em we'll compensate 'em for their injuries. Now get lost."

"Yes, sir." He bowed again and ducked out of the office.

Hannibal returned his attention to the video, watching the Kaiju whelp rip a tire off the bus it was playing with. Running low on product… this didn't bode well. All the more reason to gather what intel he could and make sure this new project got off the ground. He'd worked hard to build this empire, and he'd be damned if he let it die just because the Breach had been closed again.

_You made it, you little mofo, _he thought, lighting his cigar with a jade lighter. _This time a little further along, it looks like. Well, your predecessor apparently thought I tasted good. No way you'd understand just how much its little stunt cost me. Lemmie tell you something, bugger - you know what tastes better? Revenge._

And he blew another cloud of smoke at the image of the cub. Perhaps he wouldn't sell this one off for parts after all. Perhaps he'd have it stuffed and displayed in his estate. That would be a fine bit of payback, wouldn't it?


	10. Captive Kaiju

It was a grotesque creature, a snub-nosed monstrosity with gangly hindquarters and too many joints in its winged forelimbs to be natural. Its stormcloud-colored body flared with blue luminescence like lightning shooting through a thunderhead, and its bulging eyes - a startlingly soft blue, like a puppy's - briefly clouded over with a milky nictitating membrane as it stared out through the glass of its tank. A truck tire dangled from its gummed jaws, and shreds of metal hung like glittering ribbons from its claws. To most eyes it was hideous, or at the very best that curious category known as "so ugly it's kind of adorable."

To Newton Geizler, the baby Kaiju was absolutely beautiful.

"Look at you," he cooed, pressing his face to the glass like a child at an aquarium, his voice soft with wonder. "Aren't you a beauty? Much more developed than the first baby I saw - looks like you made it to full-term."

"How can you tell it's more fully developed?" asked Milo Kenny, the Panama Shatterdome's resident scientist. "This is the first Kaiju juvenile we've ever gotten a close look at."

"Correction - the first YOU'VE gotten a good look at." Newt didn't tear his gaze away from the baby Kajiu even as he addressed the other scientist. "I happened to get an up-close look at the first one!" A much closer look than he would ever advise anyone to get, but he didn't mention that. "Sadly, I didn't get a chance to do a necropsy, but if anything happens to this one…"

"Doncha be gettin' any ideas!" Fiona called down from the rim of the Kaiju's tank, tossing a slab of some kind of meat into the water. "No one's dissectin' our baby!"

"I wouldn't dream of hurting him!" Newt insisted, stepping back from the tank with his hands raised. "I'm just saying, if anything DOES happen, maybe you'd consider donating his body to science…"

Milo chuckled and squeezed his shoulder. "Ease off just a little, Newt. She's protective of the people and creatures she cares about."

Newt nodded. He could fully appreciate that sentiment. "Sorry… I just get excited at the chance to do some up-close research on these things. Especially one that's still alive."

"One would think that almost getting devoured by Otachi and her spawn would have cured you of that by now," Hermann muttered, looking up from the brindled pit bull he had paused to scratch behind the ears.

"That was years ago, and I have a healthy respect for how dangerous Kaiju can be," Newt insisted. "That doesn't mean I don't still think they're incredible creatures!"

Team Mustang had been at the Panama City Shatterdome for about a week now, the two Jaegers getting to know one another while Newt and Hermann studied their unlikely new arrival. The Kaiju infant had become a fixture in the base by now, and while some of the crew and personnel - mostly those that hadn't been directly hired by Jako and Fiona - still balked at its presence, for the most part everyone just treated it as a member of the team. Even when it hauled itself out of its tank for a stroll around the Jaeger bay, knocking equipment aside and leaving puddles in its wake, no one panicked, just cleaned up the mess and went on with their business.

Newt had expected a struggle in his examination of the Kaiju cub - if nothing else, he was fully prepared to ask Mustang and Hydra to restrain it while he took blood samples and measurements. So it had been a shock for the Panama Rangers to practically drag him into the hangar and introduce him to their new "pet" face to face, the cub completely unrestrained and given free rein of the Jaeger bay.

"We ain't named 'im yet," Jako had explained as the Kaiju wriggled closer, its tendriled tongue flicking out as if to catch his scent. "Not even sure if it's a he or a she, really. How d'ya sex a Kaiju anyhow?"

"You'd think with 'em being so big, checkin' what equipment they got would be easier," Fiona had added with a bit of a snort. "Go on, Newt! He's friendly! He don't bite."

Newt hadn't really wanted to put that assurance to the test, and his first instinct on being confronted with the juvenile had been to bolt. But the cub had given him a good sniff… then an enthusiastic lick that had knocked him right into Jako's arms before it romped off to find a piece of scrap metal to gnaw on. Incredibly un-Kaiju-like behavior… but a huge relief nonetheless.

"Looks like it's teething," Newt noted as the cub picked up a metal barrel in its forepaws and tucked it into its mouth. "You can see the tooth buds. Think there's any chance I can have one of its baby teeth once it sheds them?"

"Sure thing, if you're here long enough." Fiona tossed the last of the meat chunks into the tank before climbing down the ladder. "Doug, we're gonna have to order more beef! Or pork if beef's too expensive this week!"

Doug Bower, a burly bearded man who served as the Shatterdome's chief of supply, gave her a thumbs-up. "I'll get a mix! You know cost isn't an object!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're a billionaire," Fiona grumbled. "But don't spend all your personal funds on us, a'right? The PPDC gave us a spendin' budget, use that first."

"Hey, I feel better using my money to fund a good cause than just letting it sit in the bank," Doug replied with a laugh, and he made a note on his tablet as he walked off.

"You guys found out what the Kaiju eat?" asked Newt.

"Nope," Fiona replied as she reached the bottom of the ladder and hopped down. "We're switchin' between different things to see what sits best on his tummy - fish, shrimp, red meat, seaweed, different processed pet foods. So far the processed junk seems to be what he likes best, but it gives him the squirts, so we don't give it to him often."

"Too much information," Hermann grumbled. "And I thought you said you hadn't sexed it yet."

"We gotta call 'im somethin'." Fiona retorted. "You call a dog or any other pet an 'it' or a 'that,' you're a serial killer." She grinned. "You fellas need anythin' else? Your room comfy? Want another blood draw or a shit scoop?"

"It's called a stool sample," Hermann groaned. "But no, we're fine. The accommodations are more than adequate, and I believe we're done with the research for today."

"You might be, but I'm not," Newt replied. "Is it gonna bother him if I observe him a little more? We may never get this chance to watch a Kaiju up close again!"

"Naw, go for it," Fiona replied. "I'm gonna go hang with Hydra before his conference call with the other Jaegers. You two do whatever you gotta do. Nice to meetcha."

"Same to you!" Newt replied with a grin. "Take care!"

Fiona aimed "finger guns" at him before sauntering off, whistling for the pit bull. She looked put out but pulled away from Hermann's scratching fingers and trotted after her mistress.

"I like 'em," Newt noted.

"Of course you would," Hermann replied, his tone less grumpy than Newt had expected. "They're bizarre, unorthodox, and have a soft spot for creatures no one in their right mind should like. They could be your long-lost family." And with those words, he turned and limped off.

Newt pressed his face against the glass, not answering his fellow scientist… but privately he couldn't help but agree with him. There was something about Team Hydra's ragtag but loyal Shatterdome crew that appealed to him. As a couple of misfits and outcasts, Jako and Fiona had attracted their own band of misfits and outcasts, considering them as close as family… and there was something about that connection that appealed to Newt, himself a misfit who had managed to bond with a misfit Jaeger in turn. And while he'd expected to face opposition in Panama, to his great surprise Team Hydra and their crew had been fully welcoming - a bit snarky at times, but still eager to make Newt, Hermann, and Mustang feel at home.

_Well, it's not like Hong Kong had the cream of the crop, _a little voice in the back of his head nagged. _Pentecost collected a lot of misfits and outcasts too. _Perhaps that was true… but even Pentecost might have balked at this oddball collection.

"A beaut, aint' he?"

Newt turned to find Jako grinning at him. He always started just a bit at the mutated Ranger - his double sets of eyes and the third arm jutting at an odd angle from his shoulder - but quickly relaxed. Despite his appearance, Jako was quite friendly.

"He's gorgeous," Newt replied. "I always thought these creatures were incredible, even though I knew they were terrifying and dangerous. I just… never thought we'd actually have one in captivity."

"Yeah, that was kinda spur-a-the-mo, honestly." Jako scratched his wild blond hair with his third hand. "Fiona saw the lil' bugger an' had to have 'im. 'S how we get most'a our pets an' family members, actually."

"So am I a pet or a family member?" asked the short, scrawny young man who had walked up to listen in on their conversation. Despite being so pale and tiny, he had the deepest voice Newt had ever heard.

"Jury's still out on that one," Jako laughed. "Newt, this is Charlie Connare. Runs th' LOCCENT."

"'Sup." Charlie extended a hand.

"Hey Charlie," Newt greeted, grasping his hand and giving it a good shake. He took in the LOCCENT commander's wardrobe - a ratty blue hoodie, athletic pants, and monster-foot slippers. "I take it you guys don't require a dress code here."

"Aw, who cares how folks're dressed s'long as they're gettin' the job done?" Jako replied with a laugh. "He can manage a drift sequence just as well in his jammies as he can in uniform."

"Okay, point." Perhaps he was just too used to Tendo, who had worn a dress shirt and tie into the LOCCENT every day. "So… got a name for the baby yet?"

"Nope," Jako replied. "We put up a poll online to let our followers vote on a name for our newest pet. So far th' top names are Good Boy, Keanu Reeves, an' Splashy McSplashface." He shrugged. "Internet, yanno?"

"Uh… I thought the people in charge wanted the Kaiju kept a secret."

Charlie laughed. "We ain't that careless. We just said 'pet,' not what kind. Mentioned that he was a baby an' loved water. For all they know this lil' guy could be a puppy, a goldfish, or a duck-billed platypus."

Newt relaxed slightly at that. "That's good… I'd hate to see what the tabloids would do if they got word that we had a live Kaiju in one of our Shatterdomes."

"Oh, a few pictures have leaked out," Charlie replied. "I'm usually able to find 'em an' get 'em flagged an' taken down. I know we look like a bunch of jokers and lazy lumps in here, but we're very careful."

"I can see that," Newt admitted. "So um… has Mr. Splashface or whatever you're gonna call him been behaving? Any destructive behavior?"

"He's a giant puppy that's probably teething, of course he's destructive," Jako laughed. "But nah, no more destructive'n any other baby animal. Well, his size kinda adds to it, but still… he ain't willfully destructive."

Newt watched the Kaiju cub twist about in its tank, enthralled in the game of "catch the tail" that had entertained dogs for generations. "Maybe their destructive tendencies are learned behavior instead of instinct… or maybe there's something different about these new Kaiju. Anything else you've seen I should know about? You guys have been keeping tabs on him longer than I have."

"He's actually real friendly," Jako replied. "Follows me 'round the Jaeger bay when I'm in here. Like a big overgrown dog." He laughed and pointed to his eyes, then the third arm. "Maybe he sees th' extra bits an' figures I'm just a real runty Kaiju."

"You know… that might not be too far from the truth," Newt told him. "I mean, Kaiju have all kinds of bizarre anatomy - Mutavore had eyes in his chin for God's sake - so maybe he sees you and thinks of you as one of his own kind, just smaller."

"...huh. I was jokin', but if there's some truth to that, I ain't complainin'." He clapped Newt on the shoulder. "Know you were plannin' on gawkin' a lil' more at the cub, but wanna take a break? Charlie an' I were gonna play a couple games, an' we won't say no to a third player."

"Sure! Lemmie just finish up my notes and I'll join you."

Jako and Charlie headed out, and Newt picked up his tablet to jot down a few more observations. He'd have Yasmin enter these into his computer later - for now he was going to enjoy a break. As thrilled as he was to be able to observe a baby Kaiju's behavior firsthand, there was only so much of it even his Kaiju-obsessed brain could handle.

* * *

EVENT LOG FROM PAN-PACIFIC DEFENSE CORPS ARCHIVES

MEDIA TYPE: Teleconference recording

SOURCE: Personal hard drive of Hercules Hansen, Marshal of the Sydney Shatterdome and Ranger to Striker Eureka

DATE RECORDED: August 28, 2028

LOCATION RECORDED: Sydney Shatterdome, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

_Footage begins approximately five seconds into the video call, with five Jaegers visible onscreen via webcam - Striker Eureka, Mammoth Apostle, Tacit Ronin, Hydra Corinthian, and Mustang Omega, the latter two sharing a camera feed._

STRIKER: Oh good, all you youngbloods showed up.

TACIT: _*engine rumble* _I beg your pardon, Striker Eureka, but some of us are Mark Is. You're far more of a "youngblood" than we are.

MUSTANG: I don't mind being called a youngblood…

HYDRA: 'Stang, we've talked about this! Ya don't hafta be a bloody pushover all the time!

MUSTANG: _*flinches* _Sorry…

STRIKER: Y'all are still new to the NEW PPDC, so technically I got more experience at this than you. So if all'ya are done gettin' pissed off over a name, let's get on with this.

MAMMOTH: You don't have to be mean about it. What's your problem?

TACIT: I suppose we shouldn't let him ruffle our plating too much. He's probably still upset that Marshal Choi denied Gipsy's request to transfer to Sydney.

STRIKER: _*brief unintelligible spluttering* _How'd YOU know 'bout that?!

TACIT: Marshal Choi is my Ranger. I know about these things.

STRIKER: Well, shut up 'bout it an' don't rub it in! Y'all done runnin' your vocalizers yet? _**several seconds of silence** _Good. Dad's asked me to address you lot personally, since you weren't around for th' second wave of th' Kaiju War an' might not know what to expect.

MUSTANG: _**raises his hand** _Um… I was here for the end of it…

STRIKER: Yeah, all of two battles. Anyhow, any new Kaiju we face ain't gonna be what you expect. Towards the end of th' first war the Kaiju got nastier'n ever, an' we were seein' double an' triple events at the very end. An' when the second wave hit, we got clones of 'em nastier Kaiju… an' up to nearly a dozen attackin' at a time.

MAMMOTH: _**keens and shudders** _Oh dear…

TACIT: We're fully aware of this. We've read the records, and a few of us were even taken down the first time by these evolved Kaiju. I lost my first set of pilots to one of them.

HYDRA: _**soft croon** _Lightcap, I'm sorry, mate…

MAMMOTH: Please don't use Mother's name to swear.

HYDRA: Sorry, Mammoth.

TACIT: Thank you, Hydra. So while your concern is touching, Striker, you aren't telling us anything we don't already know.

STRIKER: Well, Marshal Hansen says all ya newbies gotta be brushed up on what to expect, so pay attention already!

MAMMOTH: We are, geez… _**mutters** _Even Brawler Yukon was never THIS grumpy…

STRIKER: I heard that. An, if you think Brawler Yukon's grumpy, you ain't seen me-

_A human face pokes itself into Mustang and Hydra's frame - black-haired, with a long tangled beard and eyebrows so close together they merge into a single strip of hair._

?: Hey, you talkin' about me?

HYDRA: They were talkin' 'bout the Canadian Jaeger, Yukon. Scoot, this is a private call.

YUKON: Ooooh… I like that Jaeger, eh? Mammoth, say hi to him for me. _*leaves*_

MAMMOTH: _*laughs* _Who was that?

HYDRA: His name's Angus, but everyone here calls him Yukon. He comes from the Yukon Territory in Canada, an' he's used that as his online handle so long it's just stuck. Nice guy, great mechanic, a lil' cracked in the head but we like 'im anyhow.

STRIKER: _*mutters* _Everyone in your Shatterdome's cracked.

HYDRA: You wanna say that out loud so we all can hear, Striker?

STRIKER: _*louder* _I said everyone in your Shatterdome's completely nutters! Even your Rangers!

MUSTANG: Hey! My Rangers aren't nuts! Well… Uncle Newt is a little…

HYDRA: So what if they are? They're still my Rangers!

STRIKER: They're bloody trash is what they are!

TACIT: Striker, Hydra, I implore you, don't fight-

STRIKER and HYDRA: YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!

MUSTANG: _*whines and backs out of view of the webcam*_

HYDRA: Trash, eh? THAT'S what y'all think of my Rangers, do ya?

MAMMOTH: Not all of us… I think your Rangers are perfectly fine people. A little unorthodox, but every Ranger is. We kind of have to be to do what we do.

STRIKER: There's unorthodox and there's completely unfit for th' job. An' if Pops'd had his way, they'da been chucked outta the program first thing! They're worthless!

_Several seconds of silence. Mammoth and Tacit back away from their cameras while Hydra leans in._

HYDRA: You're a right wanker, aren't ya, Striker? You think 'cause your Ranger's so high up in the command that you got a right to judge my family? You don't know shit.

STRIKER: I'm just speakin' the truth-

HYDRA: Here's a truth for ya, ya lump of slag! Jako an' Fiona have been to hell and back! Fiona's Maori - native New Zealander, which means she got the shit end of the deal right away - an' lived in an abusive home, an' Jako's a mutant from Sydney's Bone Slums. They had to fight for every good thing they ever got! An' it wasn't their fault they got dealt such bum hands!

STRIKER: I ain't sayin'-

HYDRA: Oh, you were sayin', ya junker. My Rangers've been called trash their entire lives. Fiona rescued Jako from the trash piles an' made sure he was healthy… an' Jako rescued HER by given' her somethin' to live for. They stuck together 'cause they knew it was the only way they could survive. An' they didn't just survive - they thrived, an' took in other people who'd been written off as trash an' gave 'em jobs, friends, a family of their own. An' maybe they ain't as clean-cut an' respectable as other Rangers, but they're my family!

MAMMOTH: 'Ohana. _*nods* _'Ohana means family. And family means nobody gets left behind.

TACIT: Isn't that from a Disney movie?

MAMMOTH: Yes… but that doesn't make it less true.

HYDRA: _*nods* _So lemmie tell ya somethin', Striker - you may think my Rangers are garbage… but it ain't anything they haven't heard before. An' they may be trash… but they're _my _trash. An' if you call 'em worthless or anythin' else again… I'll tromp all the way to Sydney, rip your arm off, an' beat you over the Conn Pod with it.

STRIKER: _*growls, then vents air and slumps* _This didn't go at all how I thought it would.

TACIT: You expected us to accept you as our superior instantly? Or to take your verbal abuse of our Rangers lying down?

STRIKER: No… I dunno. Damn it… this woulda gone easier if Gipsy were here with me. She's more a peacekeeper than I am.

MAMMOTH: Hey… if it's any consolation, maybe she can move in with you when we've finished up with this new wave of Kaiju. _*chirps softly* _It's cute, really…

STRIKER: Oh, hush, I ain't cute.

MAMMOTH: You are- _*cuts off as alarms sound through her microphone* _Oh no…

HYDRA: Bloody hell, you got another Kaiju alert? Lucky!

MAMMOTH: Not lucky in the least! I've gotta run, everyone - wish me luck! _*screen goes dark*_

TACIT: Good luck, Mammoth… you're going to need it.

* * *

It was dusk off the coast of Seattle, the sky the dark silver-blue color of that time between sunset and true night. The hiss of waves frothing onto the nearby beach and over Mammoth Apostle's legs seemed amplified by the stillness of twilight. No seabirds called out, no sea lions barked, not even the crickets chirped. There were no nighttime beachgoers to break the silence either - the beach had been evacuated, as had any homes within two miles of said beach.

The rust-orange Jaeger braced her legs and raised her arms, the fingers of her hand open and ready to grab, her cannon humming with power. Her internals quivered with nervous energy, but she kept her shoulders and Conn Pod high anyhow, determined not to show fear.

_You can do this, Mammoth… you can do this… you're not going to panic, you're not going to trip… you're going to take this monster down!_

"You're doing great, girl," Circe told her from inside her Conn Pod, stroking the console reassuringly. "But don't get overconfident. There are old Jaegers and there are bold Jaegers…"

_But there are no old and bold Jaegers, _Mammoth finished. _I know, Mother. I just want to make you proud._

"You have always made me proud." She patted the console. "And I have no doubt that you'll make me proud tonight, however this encounter turns out."

Before Mammoth could reply, a message rang over her radio from the Seattle LOCCENT: _"Category 4 Kaiju closing fast! Mammoth, get in position! Hold the miracle mile!"_

Mammoth nodded and stepped forward, keeping her hands raised. She still felt twinges of embarrassment at having allowed Raiju to trip her up… and to get within striking distance of human civilization, even if it hadn't taken advantage of the opportunity. She wasn't going to let it happen again.

The memory of her encounter with Raiju still humiliated her… but it baffled her as well. Striker had warned them at their meeting that the newer Kaiju weren't acting normally, but she didn't think helping a Jaeger to their feet and promptly fleeing were normal behavior even for the Kaiju he had faced during the second wave of the war. Even the scientists had been stumped… though Newt had gone into fits trying to decipher Raiju's actions, probably the only being in the PPDC happy with that particular puzzle to solve.

She had no idea what to expect from this encounter… but it seemed prudent to expect the worst. If she assumed that this Kaiju was harmless and it chose to attack her…

A sleek head broke the surface, and her core jolted with recognition. Raiju had returned… or at least a Kaiju remarkably similar in appearance. Was it the same beast? Would it act the same as before? No taking chances - she lowered her cannon, arming it…

A thought slammed through her mind - one not her own, but not Circe's either. There were no words behind it, only sheer emotion… enough to make Circe gasp and Mammoth stagger.

"What… what in the…" Cirge stammered.

Mammoth shook herself and aimed her cannon again, only to be struck with the same burst of emotion. This time it was accompanied by an image - a mental image of herself, cannon raised and energy blazing from it. The image and emotion blazed across her computer core a third time… a strong negative emotion, like a silent scream of protest.

_No, _she realized. _It's trying to say "no." Mother… I think it's the Kaiju._

"That's impossible," Circe protested. "Kaiju don't communicate."

_I think this one does. _Just to be sure, though, she stepped a little closer and raised the cannon again. The image and the mental NO flashed through her core a fourth time, and she lowered the weapon.

"My God," Circe murmured. "It talks… after a fashion. No words, but it's making do with images and feelings."

That made sense… and small wonder it had taken them this long to decipher a simple "no." How did you convey an abstract term like that with just pictures and feelings, after all? Though just because the Kaiju was able to communicate and didn't want to be shot didn't mean it was friendly…

Raiju's shoulders and forelimbs rose from the water as it slowly plodded forward, head held submissively low. It continued to project the image of Mammoth shooting along with the feeling of "no," though with less force than before. The sight of a Kaiju begging her "don't shoot" might have been amusing under other circumstances.

"Careful," Circe urged. "This could be a trap."

_If it is, it's a rather odd one, _Mammoth replied. _Should we radio Marshal Choi or-_

Another image began to push itself into her CPU - an image of a generic-looking Kaiju launching itself at a generic-looking Jaeger. The visual would have earned Raiju a shot to the chest, plea or no plea, had it not also been accompanied by the same "no" emotion as his first mental image.

_Don't shoot… don't attack? Or "don't shoot, I'm not here to attack?" _That made sense. Perhaps Raiju was trying to strike some kind of deal. A cease-fire, for lack of a better term.

"Perhaps… we can communicate with it in return?" asked Circe. "Ask it what it wants?"

_I'm not sure how to say that in pictures, _Mammoth replied. _And somehow I don't think it'll understand if I use words._

"Try it anyhow. Perhaps it will be able to read the emotions and intentions behind them."

Mammoth nodded, and she raised her hand. Raiju flinched, ducking its head even further, but relaxed when no blow came down.

_What do you want? _she asked, emphasizing each word as clearly as she was able.

Raiju stared blankly, like a dog trying to comprehend its master's words. Mammoth was about to try again when two more images passed through her CPU and her Ranger's mind - the Kaiju infant, and a patch of empty ocean floor. The images were coupled with another emotion, this one a combination of intense puzzlement, confusion, and fear.

_Oh no, _Mammoth fretted. _Oh no, oh no, oh no…_

"This is not good," Circe realized. "It's looking for the baby. The Kaiju are actively hunting for the infant Hydra Corinthian captured."


	11. Confrontation In Panama

No Shatterdome or Jaeger was unimportant during the Kaiju War… but the Panama City Shatterdome was one of the more crucial bases, no matter how one felt about its resident Jaeger team. For Panama wasn't just a small Central American country - it was a small Central American country that was also bisected by a famous shipping canal. Having the Kaiju plague the Pacific coastline was bad enough, but if a Kaiju were to reach the canal and pass through, gaining access to the Atlantic Ocean as well… well, it didn't bear thinking about.

The PPDC's original plan had been to simply destroy the canal and eliminate that chink in their armor entirely. But Panama had strenuously objected - despite the Kaiju invasion, cargo shipping was still a huge industry, and sealing the canal would be disastrous not only to said industry but Panama itself. Filling in the waterway might be a wise short-term decision, the government and populace claimed, but their nation wanted to ensure they had something to help them survive after the war.

So the Panama Canal remained open, and Panama City gained its own Shatterdome, complete with Hydra Corinthian as its resident Jaeger. And the all-too-vital task of protecting that waterway linking two oceans fell to the Mark IV and his Rangers.

Had Tendo Choi been present to see those Rangers at this very moment, he would have questioned the wisdom of entrusting the protection of the Panama Canal to this team. Not that he didn't already question it regularly.

"PENTAKILL!" Fiona whooped, leaping out of her chair and doing a victory dance. "YEAH! All your base are belong to us, suckers!"

"_Fiona, that joke was ancient before I was even forged," _Hydra pointed out, not looking up from his rapid-fire clicking and tapping as he focused on a _League of Legends _match.

"Shut ya trap, it's never too late to recycle old memes," Fiona retorted, finishing up her dance with a last dab before settling back down in her chair. "Match over?"

"_Not ye- whoop, looks like it's over." _Hydra raised his hands off the heavy-duty keyboard he used for his gaming. _"Good game. Still think I do better with Fiddlesticks than Riven, though."_

"Not your fault someone beat ya to it in character selection," Jako noted, looking up from his own _Starcraft_ game. "Gonna go again?"

"_I gotta stretch my legs," _Hydra replied, suiting actions to words as he stood up.

"You're a robot, what's in your legs to stretch?" Fiona asked, giving him a good-natured poke in the side. "I'll go walk with ya, how's that sound? Jako, wanna come with us?"

Jako shook his head. "Inna minute, luv. Speakin' of 'all your base,' I gotta finish mine 'fore the Zerg rush starts - oh, dammit!" That last came out as the base alarms claxoned, the sound echoing through the Shatterdome like a war cry.

"There's yer Zerg rush," Fiona replied. "Save your game an' meet us at the Conn Pod! Hydra, you ready?"

"_I was built ready, luv!" _Hydra replied, and he bolted out of the little gaming nook his Rangers had set up in his hangar. A lift stood ready to carry him and his Rangers up to the Conn Pod of his battle chassis, and he stepped aboard it and rocked eagerly back and forth on his heels while it rose.

Across the bay he could see Mustang Omega's team gearing up as well - the two scientists hastily throwing on their drive suits and Mustang so raring to go that he was all but carrying Hermann into the Conn Pod. Despite the surge of energy he felt at the prospect of another fight, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. He liked Mustang - the Mark VI was adorable, eager and happy and doting on his Rangers like a human fussing over an infirm parent. And he was a wicked fighter if the footage he'd seen was any indication… though he was quite interested in seeing him in an actual fight instead of a recording of one.

Too bad about his crippling lack of self-confidence… though he supposed that was to be expected out of anyone whose first Rangers had seen him as an object, and he'd been the subject of mockery by everyone else in the PPDC for much of his first year of life. Hydra did his best to encourage him, but he knew it would take a long time to undo the damage the Rossis had inflicted on him. Still, he liked to think of Mustang as a friend, and friends didn't let friends wallow in self-loathing, right?

"_How's it hangin' in there, Team Hydra?" _ The lazy drawl of Charlie Connare, the Panama City LOCCENT's head tech, crackled over his internal radio.

"_Ya know, same as always," _Hydra replied as he settled into his seat and began plugging himself into the cockpit. _"Just another day at the beach, collectin' shells an' kickin' Kaiju ass."_

"_Better than the other way 'round, huh?" _Charlie asked. _"Everyone plugged in? Ready to start this walk on the beach?"_

"You know it, mate!" Jako shouted, offering a thumbs-up to the LOCCENT with his third arm. "Let's Leeroy Jenkins this sonovabitch!"

"Speakin' of ancient memes," Fiona laughed. "Let's kick ass an' chew bubblegum!"

"_One order of ass and bubblegum comin' up," _Charlie replied. _"Initiating transfer of power in three… two… one."_

* * *

Most Kaiju had small, almost comically tiny eyes, often buried deep in their skulls beneath protective bony ridges. The Precursors had learned early on that eyes were a weak spot in their manufactured behemoths, and so sought to shrink that chink in their armor as much as they could. Mending one crack in the monsters' armor, however, only opened another one - creating Kaiju who could barely see and were more prone to stumbling around drunkenly than making a focused attack. Sometimes this error was corrected by simply giving the Kaiju more eyes, but not always.

Wendigo, a Category 2 first sighted during Armada's assault on the Hong Kong Shatterdome two years ago, was an anomaly among Kaiju. It possessed huge, saucer-like amber eyes, set above a wide mouth that seemed to horizontally split its head nearly in two, like a frog or a deranged puppet. The sight might have been comical on another creature… but with Wendigo's sharp talons, powerfully muscled limbs, and ribs that jutted out so prominently through its gray hide it almost looked like its ribcage sat outside its flesh, its weird head just added to its horror.

Small wonder Panama City was in such hysterics seeing the creature stalk towards its shores… and even Slattern and her companions, hardly beautiful creatures themselves, gave it a wide berth as it made its way towards the city.

_That thing is hideous, _Onibaba grumbled as Wendigo shambled past. _Makes Raiju look like a stunner, doesn't it?_

_You aren't a beauty yourself, Old One, _Knifehead pointed out.

_Because your nose is drawing all the females, isn't it? _Onibaba rumbled.

_That isn't one of us, _Slattern noted, narrowing her eyes as she watched the Kaiju slink along the ocean floor, making a beeline for the coast. _Not one of the Awakened ones. Perhaps the Masters have broken its will._

_Or it simply didn't Awaken like us, _Otachi suggested. _Not all of us broke free and followed you. Perhaps the Awakening only affects certain creatures._

_Perhaps… but that's not important. _Slattern waited until she judged Wendigo had put enough distance between them and itself, then motioned the others ahead with a wave of her paw. _Follow me. Otachi, are you certain your cub is here?_

_I smell it, _she confirmed. _It's here. Or was… no, it is. It's still alive. It has to be!_

Slattern judged it best not to tell Otachi that it was entirely possible her cub had been slaughtered for parts… or that it may still be alive, but subject to experiments just as cruel as anything the Masters could have devised. No sense crushing the poor mother's hopes. Let them find out just what had happened to the cub before they assumed the worst.

_The humans will send their constructs out to fight the big-eyed one, _she told the others. _While they're distracted, we'll storm the nest. We should be able to crack it open, find the cub, and leave before the constructs come after us._

_Leave? _Otachi repeated, hissing in anger. _They took my cub! We'll just let them get away with that unpunished?_

_Yes, we will, _Slattern growled. _If we destroy their nest, it gives them ample cause to pursue and destroy us. We will cause no more damage than is necessary to retrieve the cub. Perhaps, if they see we mean them no harm, they won't hunt us down._

_That's a very big "perhaps," _Onibaba noted.

Slattern knew that was an understatement - the Jaegers had been created to hunt and destroy their kind, and would no more allow them to roam the oceans unmolested than they would allow the Makers to conquer their planet. But she had to give her followers some hope for the future. The only alternative was to throw themselves onto humanity's shores and offer themselves up to the Kaiju butchers. And despite everything, Slattern still had too much pride for that.

_Let's go, _she ordered. _Get the cub and go home. With any luck, this should go smoothly._

_Famous last words, _Knifehead growled, but lumbered after the larger Kaiju anyhow as she prowled closer to Panama City.

* * *

_And here we thought Hydra was weird for lugging a baby Kaiju home, _Mammoth Apostle thought as she gripped the bony ridges on Raiju's shoulders for dear life. _Wonder what the others would think if they saw us right now._

"Don't worry too much about it, love," Circe told her. "Though I'll be honest, I never thought we'd be in this position either."

Raiju let out a squalling growl, and a thought pulsed through Jaeger and Ranger's minds - a puzzled burst that could best be described as a silent "where?" Mammoth patted the beast's shoulder and sent her best encouraging thoughts, assuring him that he was headed in the right direction and he just needed to keep going. Raiju gave a doubtful trill but kept swimming, his sinuous body rippling through the water like a river of flesh and bone as Mammoth sat astride his back and did her best to hold on.

Riding a Kaiju down the North American coastline hadn't been something she'd ever expected to do. But after Raiju had warned them that the other Kaiju were looking for their missing cub - and wouldn't rest until they had it back in their clutches - she'd judged it best to get to Panama as soon as physically possible. The _Ao Kuang _might have gotten them there faster, but it would take far too long for the ship to reach them from its current docking place in Japan. This way was… well, "unorthodox" was putting it mildly, even in an organization as unorthodox as the PPDC. But it was the best she could do at short notice.

_Any news from headquarters, Mother? _she asked.

"Tendo's in fits, but I think we expected that," Circe replied. "He's sending other Jaegers to Panama as we speak, but who knows if they'll get there in time?"

That helped Mammoth feel a bit better about their decision to use a Kaiju as an impromptu mount… but not much. _Did you tell him about… Raiju being able to talk? In a fashion?_

"No," Circe replied. "Not yet. Tendo has enough to worry about at the moment. And honestly, I'm not sure he'd believe us. Not until we had proof."

_I think we're sitting on the proof, _Mammoth told her. _But let's get to Panama first, huh? Stop a fight before it gets ugly._

Raiju gave a snort, almost as if to say _I know you're talking about me. _Mammoth gave the beast a comforting pat on the neck with her cannon-arm, then drew it back with a cringe. How could she so easily forget that she was riding a Kaiju, mankind's mortal enemy, one of the fearsome beasts she and her fellow Jaegers had been built to fight?

"Sweetheart, we'll worry about that after the crisis has been averted," Circe told her. "Let's just get to Panama before the rest of the Kaiju get there first."

Mammoth nodded, and she nudged Raiju with her heels. The Kaiju took the hint and put on a burst of speed, rocketing down the California coastline and heading for Panama.

* * *

It had been a long time since Mustang Omega had faced down a Kaiju on the battlefield. The last time he had tangled with one of these monsters of the deep, he had still been trapped in an immobile chassis and at the mercy of the Rossi twins. And that battle had ended with them dying, and him disgraced…

He shuddered and tried to force his thoughts away from that horrible day. He hadn't loved his first Rangers, but they had still created his conscious mind, however reluctantly. And the thought of losing his current Rangers in such a horrific manner still haunted him.

"You're gonna be okay, Mustang," Newt urged from within his Conn Pod. "You got this! You're a badass!"

_Yeah… badass, _he repeated with a slight nod, though hesitance clouded his voice.

"We're here with you, dear-heart," Hermann assured him. "We haven't lost a battle together yet."

That statement might have inspired more confidence had this not been only the second battle he'd fought alongside them. And that battle had been against another Jaeger, albeit an organic one, piloted by sentient minds. Today they would square off against an unpredictable creature, a foe with the mind of a beast, and that terrified him more than the prospect of another Jaeger.

Hydra shifted from one foot to the other on Mustang's left. The Mark IV's engines growled impatiently, his joints creaking and groaning as he shifted… and his mind was abuzz with noise as well. If Mustang focused he could pick up a stream of rattled phrases that sounded like so much _Star Trek _technobabble to him.

_...compensate for the speed penalty with more points into ranged attack, though if the RNG's feelin' merciful maybe we'll get a laggy one. Maybe if we get Mustang to pull aggro on it first thing we can manage a one-hit KO right off the bat. First thing first, look for bugs - organic or not, everythin' has glitches you can exploit…_

Mustang only understood about one word in five of all that, but he still admired the confidence in Hydra's mental voice. In a lot of ways he and the Panamanian Jaeger were a lot alike, more so than one might guess at first glance. Both of them had Rangers who had refused to accept their sentience and distanced themselves from their Jaegers, both had adopted a second set of Rangers who had been considered completely unorthodox but meshed perfectly with them, and both were regarded as "odd ones out" among the rest of the Jaegers.

But while Mustang felt an almost crippling anxiety over being an outsider, Hydra seemed to almost wear his outcast status as a badge of honor. Any insults or derogatory remarks, be they from other Jaegers or Shatterdome personnel, seemed to roll off him like water from a freshly greased piston. And insults towards his Rangers didn't send him into hysterics but earned a scathing insult or two right back. He had the confidence and bravado that Mustang himself seemed to lack, and he couldn't help but feel a little envious.

"_Hey buddy."_

Mustang squeaked at the unfamiliar voice in his Conn Pod… then realized it was Charlie and relaxed a little. _"Yes?"_

"_You done daydreamin' there? 'Cause we got incoming. Category 2, headin' your way. Might wanna hold the miracle mile there."_

"_We got this, Charlie," _Hydra assured him, knocking his knuckles together. "_Mustang, pull aggro for us, a'right?"_

"_What does that even mean?"_

"_It's a gamer term," _Jako explained over the comms. _"Means you get its attention an' keep it distracted while we kill it. Think you can handle that?"_

Mustang nodded. _"Can do. I'll aggro."_

"I think our Jaeger is just as capable of dealing a killing blow-" Hermann insisted.

The ocean a few hundred yards out erupted before Hermann could finish his thought. A hideous beast emerged from the water, opening a gigantic maw that revealed row after row of hooked teeth that extended clear down its throat. Bulging yellow eyes blinked idiotically in the bright sunlight, the eyelids seeming to move independent of one another, and its cadaverous torso with ribs jutting painfully through its gray hide looked completely at odds with its muscular clawed limbs.

"Jesus!" Newt gasped. "That's Wendigo! From that big attack on Hong Kong, the one where we first spotted Armada! He's beautiful!"

"You think THAT is beautiful?!" Hermann demanded. "That's a stretch even for you, Newton."

"_Hey, shut up, maybe he likes anime eyes," _Fiona shot back. _"Hey Newtykins, I know you're a crazy kaiju dude and all, but we gotta kill it, okay?"_

"I know, I know," Newt replied, though Mustang could see through his cockpit's internal cameras that the xenobiologist was tearing up at the prospect of another Kaiju to study up close. "Maybe this one'll be friendly, though. Like Raiju apparently was-"

Wendigo let out a scream like tearing metal and charged, proving Newt wrong. Mustang squealed but stepped forward, letting his titanium arm blades slide out as he prepared to "aggro" the monster.

"You got this, buddy, you got this, you got this," Newt chanted, flexing his arms in the control braces. "Go for the eyes, they're always a straight path to the brain!"

Mustang nodded, though part of him wondered at that. Wendigo's eyes were so huge that the Precursors might as well have painted a target over them. It seemed too easy, and he scrambled to remember how this creature had been defeated last time…

Then Wendigo was upon him, and there was no more time to think. He twisted to the side, the cavernous mouth slamming shut inches from his side, and slashed at its eye - a slicing movement, not a stab, a blinding maneuver rather than a killing one.

The effect was instant - and horrific. The eye _burst, _sending a spray of bright yellowish-green ichor geysering out at Mustang. Had Hydra dealt the blow he would have been showered in the noxious slime, and even Mustang's quick reflexes didn't prevent a scattering of drops from striking his armor. Within seconds the fluid began to smoke, sending needles of pain and damage alerts screaming through his systems.

_Ouch! _He raised his other hand to brush the droplets off.

"Don't do that, you'll smear it and make it worse!" Hermann shouted. "Just hold on-"

Wendigo lunged again, its tooth-encrusted mouth and throat looming large in Mustang's vision as it tried to swallow his entire Conn Pod. He felt the scrape of fangs against the reinforced glass, felt the creature's weight as he beat at it with his fists…

Then his Conn Pod vibrated unpleasantly as the beast screamed in pain and released him. Wendigo twisted around to snarl at Hydra, who had just fired an anti-Kaiju missile into the small of its back.

"_Come at me, bro!" _the white Jaeger growled, beating his chest like a cartoon gorilla. _"Come at me! I'm gonna kick your ass so hard your mama'll feel it clear in the Anteverse!"_

Wendigo screamed and charged the bulky mecha, dripping ichor into the water like a burning rain. Its head looked oddly lopsided now, one bulbous eye intact and the other collapsed in on itself like a deflated balloon. The loss of one eye didn't seem to hamper it at all - it was as if the creature didn't rely on sight…

Any further speculation was cut off by the blaze of pain from his burned armor. The fluid had eaten through his paint by now and was working on the metal beneath. And as if that weren't enough, the blade he'd used to slice its eye had warped and melted, ruining it.

_It still burns, _he whimpered.

"Try to rinse it off," Hermann advised. "Keep calm, dear-heart, the damage isn't too bad."

_I thought my paint was acid-resistant, _he protested, even as he bent down to splash water on his burns.

"It must be a corrosive alkaline," Newt realized. "Like lye or bleach! The extreme opposite of an acid!"

"Hold the chemistry lesson for after we're done here," Hermann advised.

"But this is so COOL!" Newt insisted. "It's gotta have some other sensory organs to compensate, though - or maybe those are actually poison sacs disguised as false eyes, and its real eyes are much smaller and elsewhere on its body-"

"Less science, more survivval!" Hermann ordered. "Fiona, Jako, avoid the eye if you can! It's a trap!"

"_No shit, Admiral Ackbar," _Fiona replied as Hydra drove a fist into Wendigo's chin, snapping its jaws shut. _"You guys okay?"_

"For the moment," Hermann replied. "We'll rejoin you as soon as we're sure the corrosives won't damage Mustang further."

"_Do what you gotta do!" _Fiona replied. _"We got this under cont-"_

Wendigo's other eye burst at that moment, despite the fact that Hydra hadn't even touched it. The Mark IV recoiled with a howled curse as neon yellow-green slime spattered his armor, scorching on contact.

"_Hydra!" _Mustang got to his feet and bolted forward… only for a powerful kick from Wendigo's hind legs to bowl him over. Panic flooded his systems as water closed over his Conn Pod, as a clawed foot slammed down on his chest to pin him, as alarms blared in his CPU…

"Get up, get up, get up!" Newt howled. "We gotta help Hydra! Throw him off and get up!"

_I'm trying! _Mustang retorted, slashing at the beast's ankle with his other arm blade. Bluish ichor clouded the water, but Wendigo didn't even seem to notice the wound.

"_Goddamn punk-ass sonofabitch!" _Fiona screamed. _"Leggo my Jaeger!"_

"_This stuff burns!" _Hydra growled. _"The hell IS this bugger?! This never happened in th' sims!"_

"_Join the Jaeger corps, they said," _Jako added, the tension in his voice at odds with the deadpan snark of his words. _"Save the world, they said. They can't eat ya if yer in the mecha, they said…"_

Mustang jammed his arm blade into the meat of Wendigo's calf, sawing at the muscles and tendons. If nothing else, perhaps he could cripple the Kaiju enough for Hydra to finish it off… or at least slow it down until backup arrived…

Wendigo let out a ululating howl that reverberated through the water, and the weight on Mustang's chest vanished. Relief swamped him as he pushed himself upright, emerging from the ocean and climbing to his feet. Had Hydra rallied and taken the monster down? Had Gipsy or Mammoth managed to make it in time?

His relief gave way to utter shock as he took in the writhing mass of flesh before him. No Jaeger had come to his rescue - it was another Kaiju. Bigger and far bulkier than Wendigo, with pulsing yellow markings scrawling across its hide like veins and a long jutting muzzle tapering to a sharp point, it raked at Wendigo, opening huge wounds in its hide with massive hooked talons. The smaller Kaiju shrieked and fought back, landing a bite that scored dozens of tiny wounds down the bigger beast's shoulder, but it was clearly outmatched.

"Oh dear gods, a double event," Hermann groaned. "Not now…"

"That's Knifehead!" Newt shrieked, squealing like a fanboy who'd just spotted his favorite character in a remake of a beloved show. "That's Knifehead, Category 3, defeated off the coast of Anchorage by Gipsy Danger!"

"Not NOW, Newton!"

The Kaiju-on-Kaiju battle ended quickly. Wendigo had already expended its best weapon against the Jaegers, and it was no match for Knifehead's superior strength. The larger monster gripped its foe's neck in its jaws, shoved it under the waves, and finished it off with a jab of its snout into its chest. Wendigo thrashed and flailed, staining the waters an electric blue, then went still.

Knifehead raised its head and shook like a dog, bright blue blood flying in droplets off the tip of its snout. Then it turned to regard Mustang and Hydra.

Hydra raised his arms, and his anti-Kaiju missiles armed with an ominous hum. Mustang, likewise, opened his chest panels, prepared to fire a salvo of his own. The missiles were usually saved as a last resort, as they were difficult and expensive to manufacture, but at the moment both Jaegers were damaged and shaken, and their Rangers exhausted. They wanted this fight over and done with already.

_On three, 'Stang, _Hydra told him. _One… two…_

The ocean boiled behind Knifehead, and more shapes began to rise from the water. Mustang shivered and stepped back as three more Kaiju emerged from the waves and took up position behind their comrade. Newt went into hysterics, rattling off statistics as if these were sports figures rather than monsters, and from his rambling Mustang was able to pick out names - Slattern, Otachi, and Onibaba, names that would live in infamy among the Jaegers.

_Oh bugger, _Hydra muttered. _Dunno if I got enough missiles to take 'em all out._

Mustang whimpered and took a step closer to Hydra. _Uncle Newt… Uncle Hermann… what do we do?_

"The only thing we can do," Hermann replied softly. "Fight to the end. Protect Panama City as best we can until help arrives."

That wasn't what Mustang wanted to hear… but he steeled himself anyhow and raised his arms, one blade gleaming and the other a twisted, pitted mess. He didn't want to die today… but he would, if that's what it took.

Slattern strode forward, the other Kaiju stepping back to make way for it. Mustang armed his missiles, prepared to open fire… but something shoved its way into his thoughts before he could launch his payload.

_Cub._

His firing systems locked up in surprise. _Uncle Newt, was that you?_

"You felt that too?" asked Newt. "I thought I was the only one… no, it wasn't me."

Slattern snorted. _Cub. Where. Cub. _It wasn't words that played out in his processor - it was more images and feelings, as if the speaker were trying to get around a language barrier. But the message was still clear - an image of the Kaiju cub, as well as a demand to know where said cub was located.

"It can't be," Hermann breathed. "It honestly can't be…"

"_Can't be what?" _asked Jako. _"Y'all hearin' what we're hearin' here?"_

"If you're hearing a Kaiju ask us where the baby is, then we're hearing it!" Newt replied, breathless with wonder. "This is incredible… this is incredible! They speak! They SPEAK!"

Mustang just stared, completely forgetting about his missiles. The Kaiju could speak… or at least THIS one could speak. Everything they thought they'd known about these monsters was disintegrating before his visual receptors.

"_Welp," _Fiona muttered. _"Was nice while it lasted. Someone tell Doug to go let the baby out of its tank. And have Charlie call Hong Kong. Tendo probably needs to hear about this."_


	12. Jaegers Assemble

The seconds dragged by like hours as the four Kaiju and two Jaegers engaged in their standoff, neither side moving or making more sound than the ambient thrum of the mechanical beings' engines. The black Jaeger had lowered its bladed arms, though its chest remained open to reveal its weaponry. The white Jaeger held its defensive stance, ready to unleash a salvo as soon as one of its monstrous opponents so much as twitched. The Kaiju, for their part, crouched tensely in place, ready to spring at a moment's notice.

Slattern kept her gaze locked on the two mecha, and by all outward appearances she seemed calm and stern. Unseen by anyone, however, her guts churned with worry. This wasn't how it was supposed to go down. They should be on their way now with Otachi's cub safely in their claws, not staring down their eternal enemies and waiting for an onslaught of missiles to tear them apart. It had all gone wrong, and she only hoped she could fix it before it went even worse for them.

_Cub, _she thought insistently, pushing the image of Otachi's youngling towards the mecha and their tiny pilots. _Where. Cub. _

_I don't think they understand you, _Knifehead noted.

_However did you figure that out? _Onibaba rumbled.

_Hush, old one, _Otachi growled. _You too, Big-Nose. It's YOUR fault we're in this situation! You should have just let the big-eyed one kill them, not taken matters into your own claws!_

_It felt like the right thing to do, _Knifehead insisted. _I can't explain it… it just did._

Slattern fought the urge to turn around and cuff Knifehead over the head for his act of altruistic stupidity. Perhaps his sudden impulse to rescue the Jaegers from their predicament was just further proof that they were far removed from their un-Awakened Kaiju brethren… but she only hoped it wouldn't get the four of them killed before they found the cub.

The two Jaegers watched Slattern warily, and though neither moved she could feel the rumblings of conversation between them and their pilots. She tried to catch the gist of it, but these creatures insisted on framing their thoughts in their chattering, overly-complex language. She could pick up the gist of their emotions - shock, terror, wonder, dread, and a peculiar excitement from one of the pilots. None of it gave any indication that they understood her, though.

_Cub, _she tried again. _Cub. Where cub?_

The black Jaeger hesitated, then stepped forward. The white Jaeger reached out with a massive hand to pull it back, but the sleek mech shook off its companion and approached regardless. Behind Slattern Otachi and Onibaba growled, and Otachi's throat glowed as her acid glands kicked into overdrive, but a wave of Slattern's tails made them reluctantly subside.

The black Jaeger withdrew one of its arm blades - the other appeared too warped to retract fully - and raised its hands. Slattern cocked her head, wondering just what that gesture was supposed to mean. Was it showing it was unarmed? Trying to make itself look bigger and more intimidating? Asking to mate? This blasted communication barrier made everything difficult.

_Cub. _The reply was hesitant, nervous, but clear in her mind. _Cub… here. _

_Where? _Slattern demanded. The cub was obviously NOT here. Had this lump of melted slag misinterpreted a basic question?

_Cub… _The Jaeger hesitated, then projected a vivid image of Otachi's cub. The infant was trapped in some kind of transparent cage, and Slattern felt her hackles raise. They had kidnapped the child, doubtless to show off as a trophy or experiment on for their own disgusting purposes. She had half a mind to let the others charge the Shatterdome and tear it apart at the seams in a rescue and revenge mission…

But there were more images following that one. Images of the cub prowling around the Shatterdome, following one of the tiny organics as if it were its mother, swatting a barrel around with its paws, gnawing on a vehicle and raking at it with its hind paws. And overlaying all these scenes was a strong sense of security, of comfort…

_Safe. _That was what the Jaeger was trying to say. _Cub… safe. Cub here, cub safe._

Slattern cocked her head, pondering. Was the Jaeger telling the truth, or just trying to placate her? Despite her hatred of these murderous constructs, she was inclined to believe the former - it was difficult to lie effectively through a communication method you were unfamiliar with. Still… these humans and their constructs hated Kaiju. Why would they go to all this trouble to keep one safe?

_Then again, why would Split-Head and Big-Nose go to all the trouble of helping a Jaeger when we're mortal enemies? _she thought. This newfound sentience made even the seemingly simple enmity between their kinds rather complicated.

The Jaeger lowered its hands, and "spoke" something else. It wasn't an emotion or an impression, but one of the humans' strange constructed words - part moan, part hiss, part clicking of the tongue against the front teeth. Slattern growled softly and sent a confused pulse of emotion back. Why couldn't these things just think plainly, instead of cloaking everything they said in fancy language?

The Jaeger send the word again, insistent. _Mmmusssssss-Tayyyyyynnnn. Muss-Tayn. Mustang. _It followed that up with a touch to its chest, a chest emblazoned with a crimson emblem of a four-legged creature rearing on its hind legs. _Mustang._

_Muss-Tayn, _she thought back. A name, then. They couldn't even identify themselves without resorting to bizarre artificial terms. Why not call itself Claw-Arm or Black-One or something more descriptive? It would be far more fitting…

But then, this "Muss-Tayn" had given her an opening for further communication, so perhaps it wasn't completely ridiculous. _Leader, _she responded, resting a paw on her own chest.

Mustang nodded, then gestured back to the white Jaeger, who still stared tensely at the Kaiju as if expecting them to pounce at any moment. _Hye-dra._

_Hydra. _She nodded at her companions _Old One, Claw-Tail, Big-Nose. _

Mustang repeated their names, then added some of his own. _Leader… Slattern. Old One… Onibaba. Claw-Tail… Otachi. Big-Nose… Knifehead._

Slattern gave a warbling, confused growl, making Mustang recoil. What gave these creatures the right to change their names to suit their whims? Though she had to admit that, as far as names went, they weren't bad ones. Slattern and Otachi and Onibaba had exotic rings to them, and if Knifehead wasn't nearly as imaginative, it was still better than Big-Nose…

Otachi let out a shrill cry, and Mustang staggered back even further. Hydra whipped an arm up, ready to fire at the winged Kaiju, while Slattern instinctively moved between her comrade and the white Jaeger. Thrash it all, this had been going so well up to this point! Why had she picked now to throw a tantrum?

_My cub! _Otachi shoved Slattern aside with her snout. _Out of my way, my cub!_

_Your cub is in a cage in the Shatterdome, _Slattern reminded her.

_Not anymore, _she retorted, and she surged forward. _Little one!_

The two Jaegers braced themselves for an attack… only for Hydra to squawk in dismay as a tiny form bolted between its legs and rushed for Otachi. The winged Kaiju crooned in relief and lowered her head to nuzzle her young, licking its head with a tendriled tongue. The cub squirmed and squalled at the attention, but it rubbed its snout against her glowing chin and wagged its tail happily at the reunion.

_How cute, _Onibaba noted. _That almost makes this entire escapade worth it._

Slattern had been watching the reunion, jaws gaped slightly in a relieved smile, but she shut her maw and turned back to the Jaegers. This "escapade" was far from over… and the fact that the two constructs hadn't taken advantage of the distraction to fill the four of them full of holes was only small comfort.

She gazed at Mustang, the black Jaeger cocking its "head" as it regarded the Kaiju curiously. Then she pulsed another thought towards it - an image of the five Kaiju slipping back beneath the waves and swimming away. They had the cub; there was no reason for them to remain here and menace the Jaegers and their Shatterdome any longer. Perhaps if they could impress upon these constructs that they had what they'd come for and would do no further arm, they would allow them to leave…

Mustang's reply made both Slattern and Hydra jerk with shock - _Stay._

_Stay? _Otachi growled and pushed her cub underneath her belly with a wing knuckle. _Is this construct mad? Why would we stay and allow them to gut us and chop us to pieces-_

_Stay! _The cub darted out from the shelter of its mother's body, paddling in eager circles around Mustang's ankles. _Mama, stay!_

_We are not staying, _Slattern rumbled. _We are going home._

_Stay! _The cub sloshed its way towards Hydra and wrapped itself around its leg, earning a surprised chirp from the white mech. _Friends! Food! Toys! Stay!_

Otachi growled and prowled towards the cub, only to halt in her tracks as Hydra raised a warning fist. _Give me my child, you lump of sea trash. Little one, let go of that THING and come HOME. Unless you want me to drag you by your scruff again…_

_Stay! _The cub coiled more tightly around Hydra's leg. _Friend! Good friend!_

_What is he babbling about? _Onibaba demanded.

In answer the cub poured out a stream of images and feelings, letting the adults see and hear and feel all it had during its stay in the Shatterdome. It hadn't seen its time in the Shatterdome as captivity, but as an adventure - it had been treated well, provided with food and entertainment, and generally coddled and spoiled by the humans and Jaegers. Yes, they had poked at it a little, taking samples and measuring and weighing it, but nothing painful. And it didn't want to leave what it saw as its newfound friends and playmates.

_You ARE leaving, _Otachi growled. _You are already in trouble for running off…_

_Stay! _it insisted, coiling even more tightly about Hydra's leg.

_Stay, _Mustang echoed, holding its hands out toward Slattern. _No harm. Friends. _It hesitated, struggling to find a way to frame its thoughts in images and feelings rather than words. _Learn. Learn more. Teach and learn._

Slattern snorted, tails lashing. What Mustang suggested was insane. And yet… some part of her, some part that had long fought against the raging animal in her mind and pushed for the Awakening and all it entailed, was curious. Curious about these constructs and their intelligence… and the humans who had built them.

_Leader - Slattern - what are your orders? _Knifehead asked, tilting his head to one side.

_Stay, _Slattern replied. _For awhile. _

_Have you gone mad? _Otachi demanded. _This is a trap. They want to lure us inside the Shatterdome so they can take us apart at their leisure._

_If they haven't dissected your cub, I doubt they'll do the same to us. Besides… this may be the opportunity we were looking for. The chance to finally prove to the humans that we mean them no harm._

Onibaba gurgled a laugh, clacking her pincers together. _Well, no matter how this turns out, it'll be interesting. And if this is how we meet our ends… at least we went out with a bang, right?_

_Enough, Old One, _Slattern growled. _Mustang… lead the way._

* * *

Alexis was normally a man of few words, but somehow he was the first of Team Cherno Alpha to respond to the news: "You are joking, of course."

"I wouldn't joke about something of this magnitude," Tendo replied, his expression serious over the video-call connection. "These aren't ordinary Kaiju - somehow, they're sentient. And they not only saved Hydra and Mustang from possible destruction, but they've managed to establish some kind of communication with Team Mustang. And they're settling in at the Panama City Shatterdome without problems… or at least without significant problems."

"That all sounds like the setup to a very unfunny joke to me," Sasha noted darkly.

Cherno Alpha just whimpered softly, hugging his knees to his chest and rocking in his seat. Aleksis looped a comforting arm around him, trying to soothe him, and he nuzzled his reactor tower against his father's side.

Team Cherno Alpha was en route to Panama, the miniature Jaeger and his parents settled in the Conn Pod of Cherno's battle chassis while the usual team of helicopters flew it over the ocean and towards the narrow neck of land that connected the two American continents. They had been geared up for a fight, thrilled to step back onto the battlefield after two years. Cherno himself had been nervous but excited, hoping that this new Conn Pod setup would work as well in battle as everyone hoped it would.

But then Tendo Choi had contacted them with the shocking news - four Kaiju had arrived at the Shatterdome, killed a fifth that had threatened to overwhelm Mustang and Hydra, and asked for their cub back. Asked. Actually established communication. And now the entire PPDC was thrown into disarray as they struggled to figure out what this revelation would mean for both the Jaegers and the world at large.

"_I don't like it," _Cherno fretted. _"It's too different. I don't like it when the Kaiju start evolving - bad things always happen when the Kaiju change."_

"None of us like this, little one," Sasha murmured, patting his arm in an effort to comfort him. "It changes everything we thought we knew about these creatures. Or… I assume it does." She frowned at Tendo through the screen. "I assume we are to return to Vladivostok? That we are no longer needed?"

"On the contrary, I want as many Jaegers as possible to make their way to Panama City," Tendo replied. "Just because these Kaiju are capable of communication doesn't mean we should let our guard down. Should they get aggressive, we'll need as many hands as possible available to subdue them. Just… don't come in swinging. Not yet."

Despite himself, Cherno perked up at that news. _"All the Jaegers are going to Panama?"_

Tendo nodded. "All Jaegers save Tacit Ronin are en route as we speak… and Tacit and I will be on our way as soon as we finish locking down the Hong Kong Shatterdome."

"Will that not leave our coasts unprotected?" Aleksis demanded.

Cherno's glee at seeing his fellow Jaegers again - Conn Pod to Conn Pod and not via a video chat - dampened at his father's words. Was this a ploy by the Precursors to get the Jaegers to abandon their posts, leaving the coastlines vulnerable to other, less friendly Kaiju? Or worse, another organic Jaeger? If anything happened to his homeland while they were occupied in Panama, he would never forgive himself.

"We have enough of our anti-Kaiju sensory network up and running to monitor most coastlines, and the militaries of the Pacific Rim nations are offering their aid in closing the gaps," Tendo replied. "If a Kaiju approaches a coastline, we should have enough warning to get a Jaeger there before they make landfall."

Cherno relaxed slightly at that. _"Which Kaiju are there?" _If it was Katschei or Razorback, one of the monsters who had killed Eden Assassin or Nova Hyperion…

"Slattern, Knifehead, Onibaba, and Otachi," Tendo replied. "Raiju is also en route according to Mammoth Apostle's information."

"And we're certain Raiju is… sentient… as well?" Sasha asked.

In response Tendo sent an image, the timestamp and website URL indicating it had been taken from an underwater webcam of some sort. Cherno gawked a moment, then burst out in the stuttering engine cough that was his laugh.

"You're joking," Aleksis muttered, staring at the picture of Mammoth Apostle astride Raiju's back, hunched low like a jockey riding a Thoroughbred to the finish line in the Kentucky Derby.

"I only wish I was," Tendo replied. "I honestly thought this was a Photoshop job until Mammoth assured me otherwise. Raiju is… not bright, to put it kindly, but he's oddly friendly."

"Friendly Kaiju… I do not like this." Sasha shook her head. "It's all too good to be true. And if this is true and these beasts ARE sentient, will they not wish to avenge their fallen comrades?"

"We've had that exact thought," Tendo replied. "Which is why it's all the more important to get our Jaegers to Panama. If these Kaiju turn violent, we want to be prepared."

Sasha nodded. "And if they are not violent? If they want something else from us besides our deaths?"

"Newt's already working overtime to establish a more effective means of communication with them, and determine just what's going on. In the meantime… all we can do is protect Panama as best we can. And for that we need every available Jaeger."

"Understood," Aleksis told him. "We will do our part."

"That's all I ask," Tendo replied, and cut the connection.

Cherno snuggled up to his father's side. _"I'm nervous. This is different from anything we've faced before… and I don't like different."_

"I know, little one," Sasha told him, stroking his reactor tower gently. "It's different for all of us. We will be strong, though… we will face it together, and deal with whatever comes."

Cherno nodded. This whole situation was new and frightening - the unknown was always terrifying, even for a Jaeger. But knowing his parents, his Rangers, would face it with him was a help.

_And the other Jaegers will be there too. Crimson, Gipsy, Striker, Coyote, Brawler, Mustang… and the new ones like Mammoth and Hydra and Tacit. We'll all face this together, just like before. And whatever happens… we'll do what we must to save the world._

"Are you looking forward to seeing the others again?" Sasha asked.

Cherno nodded. _"It's been a long time since I've seen the others. It will be nice to catch up."_

"Duty first, but I'm sure there will be time for that," Aleksis assured him. "It will be nice to see the other Rangers again. It was good to return to Vladivostok, but I do miss talking to Beckett and Mori and the others."

"I as well." A smirk replaced Sasha's worried scowl for a moment. "I have a feeling it will be hard to talk to Dr. Geizler, though."

Cherno chirped in confusion. _"Do you think he won't want to talk to us?"_

"I think he will be extremely busy," Sasha replied. "Despite all he has been through, he is still fascinated by the Kaiju. And now, after being content with bits and pieces of dead ones, he has five living Kaiju practically on his doorstep."

Aleksis rumbled a laugh. "I am sure he is like a child in a candy store right now. Excited beyond belief."

* * *

_They're beautiful._

That was the only coherent thought that passed through Newt's head as he watched the Kaiju lumber onto the shore outside the Panama City Shatterdome, shaking seawater off like dogs and clawing barnacles and other clinging aquatic life from their hides. The rest of the world could call these brutes ugly and horrifying and monstrous all they wanted - to him they were magnificent. And even being cornered in the Bone Slums by Otachi or chased by Armada's flying drones or facing down Wendigo just a few hours ago could squash that thought.

Slattern planted her forepaws in the sand and proceeded to stretch like a cat, back arched, lipless maw open wide in a deep yawn that sounded enough like a roar to make onlookers scatter. And there were a LOT of onlookers - not only had what seemed to be the entire population of the Shatterdome turned out to see these new Kaiju up close, but plenty of civilians had gathered to watch. And snap pictures, if the number of phones pointed up at Slattern's head were any indication.

_Eh… we weren't going to be able to keep this secret long anyhow, _Newt thought. _The world knows we've got Kaiju here, and that we've made no move so far to attack 'em. The fact that they've done nothing to attack US will probably go unmentioned, but hey, bad news doesn't get as many clicks._

"My god," Hermann muttered as Otachi opened her wings to let the sun dry them, the amber rays seeming to illuminate the membranes like a paper lantern. "I hoped to never see one of these creatures so close without a Conn Pod to protect me."

"We don't always get what we want," Yasmin noted, staring up with a mingled expression of awe and fear. "What happens if they suddenly come after us? Can Mustang and Hydra stop them in time?"

"More Jaegers are on the way," Hermann assured her. "And Mustang and Hydra are strong. They should be able to hold them back until backup arrives."

"They've been around for hours and haven't so much as stepped on anyone," Newt noted. "If they were gonna attack us, they'd have done it by now."

"And how are you so certain of this?" Hermann asked. "Do talking Kaiju make landfall every day now?"

"Well, no, but the old Kaiju never went this long without attacking," Newt replied. "These Kaiju… it's not just the fact that they talk. They seem to have a pack hierarchy - Slattern seems to be in charge, with the others following her orders - and they clearly care about their young and about each other's safety. It's like watching a pack of wolves - not that I've ever seen wolves in the wild, just in a zoo, and any animal's going to act differently in captivity…"

"Get to the point, Newton," Hermann muttered.

"I think he's saying they're intelligent," Yasmin replied. "Maybe not as intelligent as humans, but at least as smart as, say, dogs or wolves. Right, Dr. Geizler?"

Newt nodded. "Not just intelligence, though… communication implies sentience. I think these Kaiju are sentient, or became sentient like the Jaegers did!"

Hermann's eyes widened, and he looked like he dearly wanted to argue with his fellow scientist but was finding it difficult to come up with a convincing counterargument. "Other animals communicate, however - dolphins and whales, elephants, honeybees - and they aren't defined as sentient."

"The jury's still out on cetaceans," Yasmin pointed out. "Literally - the United Nations is still trying to make a decision regarding whether to classify them as sentient beings alongside humans and Jaegers. But that's off the subject."

The ground beneath their feet shuddered, and the three scientists staggered, grabbing onto each other to steady themselves. Once they regained their balance they looked to the shore to see Knifehead had flopped directly into the sand and was rolling in it, twisting and snuffing like a dog rolling in something disgusting. Onibaba and Slattern gave the long-snouted Kaiju looks of such exasperated disgust that it took all of Newt's willpower not to laugh. Yasmin didn't even try to hold back and let out a giggle.

"Back up a bit," Hermann ordered, rolling his eyes at the spectacle. "You said 'became sentient.' But the Jaegers only became sentient through repeated drifting with their Rangers. Are you implying the Precursors somehow drifted with the Kaiju to make them sentient?"

Newt hadn't thought of THAT possibility, and for a moment the smile faded from his face. Then it returned as something incredible occurred to him.

"They might have, they might not have," Newt replied. "But we know for sure who HAS drifted with a Kaiju brain."

"Who…" Hermann's eyes threatened to bulge out of his skull as the implications set in. "Are you saying WE are responsible for this?"

"Hey, we've both drifted with Kaiju brains multiple times!" Newt replied. "Not just the first version of Otachi's baby - no offense, Big Mama…"

Otachi gave no sign that she had heard them, focusing on trying to dry her wings in the sun and keep her cub corralled with well-timed swipes of her tail at the same time.

"...but with the brain the Kaiju cultists had in their basement," Newt finished. "And the Kaiju have that hive mind, or at least the old ones did… so by drifting with one, we sorta drift with them all, right?"

"Are you saying… that WE turned the Kaiju sentient?" Hermann demanded.

Newt nodded enthusiastically. "If drifting with a Jaeger gives it a mind of its own… I guess it works with Kaiju too. Man… you think they'll let me get close enough to study them? This is an unprecedented opportunity!"

"I'd… let them get settled in a bit better first," Yasmin suggested. "I mean… we're all still getting used to the fact that they're not trying to kill us-"

The ocean erupted in a violent maelstrom not far offshore, and screams rang through the air in response. The Kaiju recoiled, hissing, and the Jaegers braced themselves… only to relax as Mammoth Apostle waded towards the shore, the crocodilian bulk of Raiju trailing behind.

"Another one… six of them," Hermann murmured. "And it's following Mammoth around like a puppy. Can this day get any stranger?"

"Dude, don't say that," Newt laughed. "That just guarantees it'll get stranger!"

"Well, it's not like NOT saying it will make things go back to normal…"

Yasmin smothered her laughter behind her hand as the two scientists continued to bicker good-naturedly. They were all so caught up in their conversation that they didn't notice that one of the onlookers hadn't just been filming the Kaiju, but the scientists as well. Said onlooker, a remarkably well-dressed man with sunglasses partially obscuring a scarred face, lowered his phone and thumbed a message, then sent it off to its recipient.

_Update on Kaiju situation, Hannibal Chau - this gets more interesting by the minute._


	13. Meeting of Leaders

Hannibal Chau let out a dark, rumbling chuckle as he viewed the photos his contact had sent him - photos of five new Kaiju, standing proudly on the sands of a Panama beach, that bastard cub romping at their feet like some overgrown Labrador. As he flipped through the photos his mind began to calculate, mentally weighing each beast and estimating how much hide and bone he could harvest from each beast, how many tons of flesh and fat and offal he could siphon from their bodies, how many skin lice and teeth he could pluck from their carcasses. And those numbers shifted to other numbers… dollars, yuan, yen, euros, pesos, rupees, coins, whatever currency his wealthy, hungry customers would hand over.

_Walking wealth, _he thought, zooming in on Otachi's wings to admire that flawless membrane - membrane worth its weight in diamonds to the right market. _There's a fortune sitting right there in Panama. And if those Jaegers won't put 'em down and let us harvest… well, there's a few anti-Kaiju missiles still in storage…_

He shook his head and squashed those thoughts, reining in his greed. No, that was thinking too short-term. At the moment, these Kaiju were worth far more to him alive. They represented more than wealth - they represented the future of his empire.

_Keep me updated, _he texted back to his contact, then set the phone down and turned his attention to his computer. A few new files had cropped up on Tendo's computer, and he quickly browsed them for any pertinent information. So far, it seemed, the PPDC had opted to simply monitor the situation - all Jaegers had been sent to Panama just in case violence broke out, but they wouldn't harm the beasts unless they attacked first. Interesting…

_Though if the contact's to be believed, their scientists have some whacked ideas about these critters being sentient. That's gonna throw a wrench in things. Gotta figure out a solution to THAT little mess… but something'll come along. For now, though… let's go check on the project._

Hannibal got up from his desk and headed for the jade statue of a half-woman, half-Kaiju creature in the corner of his office. He looked it up and down appreciatively, marveling at how the sculptor - a former Kaiju cultist who he guessed had joined said cult less out of devotion and more out of some kind of weird Kaiju fetish - had managed to create something so sensual-looking and monstrous at the same time. Then he gripped the statue's chin and twisted, turning its head ninety degrees on a nearly-invisible swivel joint.

A panel on the wall slid aside, and he returned the statue's head to its original position before stepping inside. The wall slid shut, and the hidden elevator dropped him down beneath the squalid streets of Hong Kong… down beneath the public Kaiju bunkers and the subway tunnels, down lower than even the bravest urban explorers ever dared to go…

The lift door opened, and he stepped into a facility the size of a small Shatterdome that bustled with activity. Workers hauled bags of animal feed and barrels of Kaiju waste to and fro, checked fences and restraints, and carried massive quantities of zoo-grade tranquilizers. Massive pens with concrete barriers, electrified metal paneling, and chains thick enough to keep the _Titanic _moored and anchored lined the walls, but all but two of these pens stood empty. Those two, however, were the focus of all the activity in the chamber, holding the prizes Hannibal had fought so hard to obtain.

A shark's grin crossed his face as he gazed upon the two Kaiju - the horned, bull-like bulk of Scunner and the lanky, almost cone-headed Karloff. Scunner screamed and rammed herself against the sides of her cell, sparks flying from the electrified walls, and personnel shouted and cursed as they tightened her restraints and ordered more tranquilizers pumped into her veins. Karloff, in stark contrast, slumped in his own cell like a puppet hanging loosely from its strings, not even stirring as one of Hannibal's zoologists rammed a hypospray the size of a javelin into his neck to draw ichor.

Hannibal tapped his chin in thought. Scunner still had some fight in her, but Karloff was broken... which, while it made him manageable, was going to make things difficult. Too bad it hadn't been the other way around - it would be easier to manage a successful mating if Scunner were the placid one and Karloff the spirited one.

It had been a complete fluke for his Kaiju-harvesting teams to come across not one, but two Kaiju on a remote South Pacific island, sprawled out on the rocky beach. At first they had assumed they had made landfall on the wrong shoreline and died of natural causes, but closer inspection revealed that they were alive but sleeping. And while it might have been smarter to simply slaughter the beasts and ship them home in pieces, Hannibal had other ideas.

Getting two live Kaiju subdued, shipped to Hong Kong, and installed in his facility - all without alerting the authorities - had been a herculean task, one that had cost him twenty men and far too much money. But if all went well, perhaps it would be worth it.

"What's shakin' so far?" he called out, striding closer to the two cells. Scunner spotted him and shrieked her outrage, but Karloff just blinked his double sets of eyes at the sight of the man in red.

"No successful attempts to breed thus far," his head scientist - a woman who had been fired from the Taipei Zoo for performing illegal experiments on the animals - noted. "Scunner seems receptive to physical attention from Karloff but rebuffs actual attempts to mate. And in all honesty, Karloff is having a hard time getting it up without chemical assistance."

Hannibal snorted. "Great, even the freakin' Kaiju need Viagra. What other bad news ya got?"

"Actually, we had another option we wanted to float past you," she replied. "Artificial insemination could work where traditional breeding methods are failing. We just need to harvest from Karloff and implant it in Scunner and we're good to go."

"Then get on with it already!" he snapped.

The scientist nodded and hurried off, barking orders. Hannibal grinned as he watched Scunner toss her horned head like a spirited horse and Karloff blink stupidly at the bustling humans at his feet. The Kaiju breeding program was finally getting off the ground. The resources he'd poured into live-capturing two Kaiju, making sure they were of compatible genders, and getting them to copulate would finally pay off and make this whole dangerous, expensive, lunatic venture worth it.

If he could breed his own Kaiju, he could keep his empire going without having to lick the boots of the PPDC or depend on the Precursors to keep making ill-fated attempts to take over the planet. He could expand his empire across the globe, making himself the wealthiest man in the world. And with wealth, anyone and everyone would bow to him… including governments.

It felt good to win. And if he could rub his success in the faces of the PPDC - and get revenge against that stinking Kaiju bastard-cub in the process - so much the better.

* * *

The Panama City Shatterdome was a relatively large Shatterdome for such a small country - though given that it had to defend a vital waterway from Kaiju infiltration, perhaps that wasn't surprising. But even the massive Jaeger bay was beginning to feel crowded now, with six Jaegers currently present and more arriving every minute. The fact that plenty of much smaller but far more numerous humans kept gathering around to gawk at the monsters gathering outside wasn't helping matters.

Under normal circumstances the Jaegers would have unplugged from their battle chassis and joined their Rangers on the ground, rather than wandering about the Shatterdome in their massive frames. But the presence of the Kaiju had them all on edge, despite Mustang and Mammoth's assurances that they were harmless. Every Jaeger present opted to stay in their larger forms, just in case one of the leviathans they'd called foes for so long chose to go violent. These Kaiju might not have caused any harm yet… but no one was taking any chances.

Gipsy Danger allowed Raleigh and Mako to disembark from her Conn Pod before moving to join her comrades at the bay doors. Mustang, Hydra, Mammoth, Brawler, and Striker were watching the Kaiju settle in on the beach, and Striker instinctively scooted over to make room for her. She sidled up to his side, unconsciously leaning against him as she took in the sight.

_They look so… tame. _Maybe that was the wrong word to describe monsters the size of mountains, but it seemed to fit. The Kaiju were digging in the sand and circling about like dogs settling in for the night, getting comfortable on the shore. Otachi had her cub snuggled under one wing, while three of the other four Kaiju opted to huddle together as if for warmth. Raiju curled up in a forlorn-looking lump some distance away - evidently he wasn't in the rest of his pack's good graces at the moment.

_Bugger all, _Striker muttered, draping an arm around Gipsy's shoulders. _Just when we think we understand these pikers, somethin' new comes up._

_They're critters from another world, _Brawler pointed out. _Didja honestly think we could learn everythin' there was to know about 'em?_

_We learned th' important stuff, _Striker retorted. _Namely that you can punch 'em to death. But now the blighters're sentient! Who'd've thunk?_

_Does that mean that before… when we fought these creatures… we were killing thinking, feeling creatures? _asked Mammoth with a nervous rumble.

_My uncles doubt it, _Mustang replied. _They think it's only this new batch that's gained sentience, and not even all of them. The Wendigo clone was just a normal Kaiju._

_Normal Kaiju… that's an oxymoron if I ever heard one, _Hydra muttered.

Gipsy shivered, unable to take her eyes off the beasts as the settled in for the night. _We're just trusting them? Letting them sleep out here? What happens if they attack in the night?_

_We'll be ready, _Brawler assured her. _Jaegers don't need to sleep. We'll keep a watch out, an' alert the others if any of 'em try anything funny._

_I don't like this waitin', _Hydra growled. _Don't like the enemy campin' at our base. We need to wipe these mobs!_

_If that means we need to go out an' kick some ass, then for once I agree with you, _Striker told him. _Sentient just means they can actually think about just how they're gonna-_

_No, _Mustang replied, far more firmly than Gipsy had ever heard him speak before. _We're not going to kill them. _

_Mustang, they're still monsters! _Gipsy told him. _They may not be animals, but they were still created by the Precursors. They could have some kind of sleeper programming and turn on us without warning, or they could be actively planning something like Striker said. _

_And even if they don't mean us any harm, they're still huge, _Brawler pointed out. _Is there even room for them in this world?_

_There's room for US, _Mustang insisted. _They said the world was too small for us, and humans made room for us. Why not for the Kaiju?_

_Because we became smaller for the humans, remember? _Gipsy reminded him. _You can't do that with the Kaiju. They're organics - you can't just transfer them into smaller bodies. They're stuck like this._

_...oh. _Mustang gazed out at the Kaiju, watching a ripple of bioluminescence shiver down a muscular side. _Still… there has to be a way. They're communicating with us, that's a start._

_I don't care if they start solving quadratic equations, _Striker retorted. _They're still bloody dangerous! They could attack us at any moment for no reason! We really want these things on our doorstep?_

_Tendo says- _Mustang insisted.

What Tendo insisted, they wouldn't find out that night. For one of the Kaiju chose that moment to raise its head and emit a low, rumbling yawn, illuminating the night with a glowing blue maw like a jagged-edged moon. The blue light glinted off a long saber-shaped muzzle, crescents of shark-like teeth, and a powerful muscled body streaked with veins of yellow.

It was a terrible visage to behold… one that ignited a firestorm of fury and horror and grief in Gipsy's core. For she'd seen that monstrous face before - twice in the flesh, and countless times in terror-stricken memories in the drift.

_Pain searing through her chassis as claws ripped at her armor, as a massive blade-like snout punched through her chest… her Conn Pod rent open like an egg, exposing her brothers to the storm-thickened air outside… the agony of Yancey being torn free, of his life being crushed from his body by a paw the size of a city block..._

She slipped out from under Striker's arm and strode onto the beach, her chain sword sliding free of her armguard.

_Gip, what're you doin'? _Striker demanded.

_Gipsy, get back here! _Mammoth called out. _We have orders-_

_Hang orders, _she shot back, storming towards the knot of Kaiju. All desire to follow Marshal Choi's orders had drained away - only fury and hatred remained. Only the desire to avenge her brother, to pay Knifehead back for the pain he had inflicted on her and her brother.

Knifehead finished his yawn and shut his mouth, then swung his head around to regard Gipsy. For a moment he stared blankly at her, tiny eyes blinking away the last vestiges of sleep. Then his gaze rested on her chain-sword… and he froze, every muscle in his titanic body locking up in shock.

_For my brother, _she rumbled, and raised the blade high.

Knifehead gave a startled bark and stumbled backwards, stepping on one of Slattern's tails in the process. Slattern awoke with an angry growl, half-rising from the sand as Knifehead continued to scramble away, making for the surf. The third Kaiju in their little cluster, a crablike monstrousity that Gipsy recognized but couldn't bring herself to dwell on yet, scuttled out of the way, grumbling to herself.

_No! _The thought came clear as day, resonating through her mind and bright with terror. _No! No! Nononononono!_

_You killed my brother! _she retorted, storming after the saber-faced Kaiju.

A burst of confusion - either Knifehead had no recollection of killing her brother, or he simply had no idea what a "brother" even was. It didn't matter to her, though - either way, Knifehead was going to pay for his crimes…

A low-slung form shoved the other Kaiju back a few paces, placing itself between Gipsy and his comrade like a living shield. Raiju's head hung low like a puppy expecting to be scolded, and a high warbling cry almost like a whimper issued from his throat, but he didn't budge. He just gazed up at Gipsy with pleading eyes, his expression almost comical in its earnestness.

If the Kaiju hoped to change her mind, it was mistaken. If anything, she was just more determined than ever to push forward. She'd slashed Raiju in half once before, she could do it again…

"Gipsy! Stop!"

That voice, thin and frail and barely audible in comparison to the bellows and rumbles of the Kaiju, stayed her hand. She kept her arm raised but turned just slightly to face the speaker.

_Raleigh?_

Raleigh had been running down the beach towards the standoff, but he slowed to a walk as he approached her feet. Somehow, despite interacting almost exclusively with her smaller chassis over the past two years, he wasn't afraid of her titanic size and power.

"Gipsy, stop," he urged. "Don't do this!"

_Raleigh, they're monsters, _she insisted. _Knifehead's a monster. He killed Yancey… he almost killed us! Who's to say he won't do it again?_

"I know… I know, girl," he murmured, resting a hand on her massive foot. "But these aren't the same Kaiju. They're different. I know you're hurting and angry, I can feel it… but killing Knifehead won't fix it. It'll just start a war right here on the beach."

_There are six of us, and more Jaegers are coming, _she insisted. _We could take them!_

"Don't pull a Striker on us, girl," Raleigh urged. "Gipsy… these Kaiju aren't the ones who hurt us. Who hurt humanity. They're different - you don't have to be a scientist to see it. Please, stand down and don't do anything stupid."

Gipsy keened, but she lowered her sword-arm to her side. _You really believe that, Raleigh?_

"I don't want to," he confessed, "but Newt and Hermann have a good track record for these kind of things. Gipsy… put your sword away and come back to the Shatterdome. Please."

She shuddered and retracted her chain-sword, letting it slide back into its sheath with a rattle of metal links. Anger still pulsed through her core, rage at a copy of the very Kaiju who had literally torn her family apart walking these shores… but she trusted her brother. And her love and trust towards Raleigh was far stronger than her anger.

The five adult Kaiju watched Gipsy as she stepped away from them - the cub had somehow slept through the whole debacle. Slattern and Onibaba glared distrustfully at the Jaeger, while Otachi huddled low over her sleeping cub like a mother hen brooding over her chick. Raiju looked terrified and defiant at the same time, while Knifehead gazed after her with a strange mix of confusion and regret.

_Regret… how can a Kaiju feel regret? _Maybe they were more intelligent than Kaiju of the past - maybe they were even sentient. But capable of emotions as complex and developed as regret and concern? How was that possible?

The other Jaegers waited for her at the door to the Shatterdome, and Striker pulled her into a tight embrace while the others crowded around her.

_Ya all right, sheila? _Striker rumbled.

Gipsy nodded. _I'm going inside. I can't look at Knifehead right now. He might not be the same one, but… he brings back memories._

_I know, luv, _he soothed. _I ain't got an individual Kaiju I have a grudge against, but I can guess it's hard seein' him again. Wish we coulda gone out there an' shanked him together._

_We need to give them a chance, _Mustang insisted. _I know we're all still angry at them, but… we need to try to understand them better. Not just write them off as monsters._

_It's not like their predecessors left a glorious legacy behind, _Brawler pointed out. _Kaiju wrecked this planet good and proper. You can't expect us to welcome these beasties with open arms all of a sudden._

_No… but we can give them a chance, _Mustang replied. _We can not judge these Kaiju for the destruction their predecessors inflicted on the world. Let's give them a chance, at least until the scientists understand them a little better._

That was asking a great deal from all of them - especially those who had lost something precious in the Kaiju War. And Gipsy wasn't sure she could do it. But at least she could stay out of the way until the scientists figured something out.

She retreated into the Shatterdome, making for the bay that was to be hers during their stay in Panama. All she wanted right now was to unplug from her battle chassis and go hug her brother and sister until her troubled mind eased. Raleigh and Mako had both lost much to the Kaiju. They would understand her turmoil.

* * *

Not for the first time, Tendo Choi wondered what Stacker Pentecost would have done in his place. Yes, Pentecost had dealt with impossible odds and strange situations during his tenure as Marshal of the Jaeger program, but he had somehow been able to handle every crisis with grace and serenity. It was a deep shame that he hadn't lived to see any of the Jaegers besides Coyote Tango achieve sentience, but Tendo was sure he would have handled that with his usual calm, capable methodicalness.

And perhaps Pentecost would have been able to approach Slattern, the Category V Kaiju who seemed to be the leader of the sentient Kaiju, without feeling like he was on the verge of fainting dead away into the sands.

The titaness gazed down at him, seated on the Panama beach as regally as a cat with her tails curled around her forelegs. Her Y-shaped head tilted slightly to the side as she regarded the fleck of a man approaching her, a man who might as well have been an insect or a grain of sand as far as she was concerned. Her monstrous facial structure made it difficult to gauge her expression, but Tendo almost imagined she was looking at him contemptuously, as if she might crush him into the sand at the slightest provocation. That thought did nothing to quell his nervous nausea.

Tacit Ronin gave a rumble like distant thunder, the white Jaeger looming high overhead as he trailed after his Ranger. _I'm here if she tries anything. Have courage. You can do this._

_I'm about to have the first diplomatic meeting with a Kaiju in history, _Tendo retorted. _Gods, that sentence sounds insane, but what about this isn't? How do I have courage in the face of THAT?_

_Courage isn't the absence of fear, _Tacit assured him. _It's being afraid but doing what you must anyhow. You can do this. Just remember what Newton and Hermann told you._

Tendo gave the slightest of nods, wondering if Slattern's eyes were keen enough to catch that movement. The two scientists had taken great pains to explain that the kaiju didn't communicate in words, but in thoughts and images. They had already picked up a few basic words - mainly the names the Jaeger program had given them over the years - but there was still a considerable "language" barrier to overcome.

Slattern twitched the tips of her tails, and a single thought pulsed in Tendo's mind - not his own, not Tacit's, but something alien. It was a burst of confusion… directed at him.

_Who? _That was the closest he could come to pinning a translation to that concentrated thought. _Who are you?_

"Tendo," he said aloud, then thought the name as clearly as he could for her benefit. _Tendo._

Slattern nodded, and two words sounded in his own mind, slightly garbled but still understandable. _Slaaaa-tern. Leader._

Tendo nodded, then touched his chest. _Human._

_Human?_

_Human. _He focused on the image of a group of humans, trying to include as diverse a mix of races, ages, and genders as he could. _Humans._

_Humans. _She bobbed her head, as if she'd seen his nod and correctly interpreted it as a gesture of understanding. _Human Leader?_

_No. _He wasn't sure how to explain the convoluted business of this world's multiple governments to her, so opted to save that lesson for a later time. _Jaeger Leader._

Slattern rumbled softly, and a burst of amusement passed through his mind… amusement coupled with the image of himself standing before a Jaeger, arms raised in a commanding gesture. _Leader! Tiny Leader!_

Tacit gave an amused rumble of his own. _I think she just cracked a joke. If we needed further proof that they're sentient, there it is._

Despite his fear, Tendo managed a smile at that. _Let's just hope they take a tiny leader seriously. _He took a moment to collect his thoughts, then formed another question in his mind.

_Why? _he ventured, trying to mold the words into a feeling of inquiry, of curiosity and expectation. _Why are you here?_

Slattern huffed and tilted her ponderous head towards Otachi, curled tightly around her offspring with a wing obscuring most of it from view. _Cub. Find cub._

_No… here. _He thought of the Earth, a blue globe swirled with white, but that just earned a burst of confusion from the kaiju leader. Instead he focused on an image of the sea floor. _This… world. Not the Anteverse._

Slattern went mentally silent for a long moment. Then she crouched, her great head lowering down towards Tendo. He backpedaled several steps, and behind him Tacit raised his arm blades, ready to take a slash at the kaiju should she get too close to his Ranger…

But Slattern just rested her chin in the sand, as if trying to get down on Tendo's level. Her eyes - tiny in comparison to the rest of her body, but still bigger than Tendo himself - met his, and for the first time he saw the gleam of intelligence in them.

Then images assaulted him, images accompanied by pain and fury and wrenching terror…

_Thick stony restraints pinning her limbs… needle-thin blades carving into her flesh to take samples… jolts of pain to subdue her whenever she struggled too much… watching as others of her kind were loosed and pitted against one another, with the losers harvested for spare parts… watching as the survivors were herded into a glowing throat of a rupture between worlds to serve as living weapons… finally snapping her bonds and fleeing, leading others, watching in horror as a straggler was caught and killed on the spot… bursting from a rift into water pure and clean and free of the taint of her Makers…_

Tendo reeled back, held upright only by a massive finger against his back to keep him from toppling over. He shook his head, struggling to shake off the lingering pain and terror of those visions, and met Slattern's gaze again. And this time he saw something very like himself in those eyes - the weary determination of a leader who carried a vast weight on their shoulders, and was struggling to do the right thing for those in their charge.

_Here, _she replied. _Escape. Freedom. Life. Away from… that._

Tendo's gaze moved from Slattern to her titanic charges - Otachi curled up around her cub, Knifehead and Onibaba huddled together, and Raiju pacing in front of the Shatterdome doors like a nervous dog. Then he blew out a sigh. Slattern's request wasn't entirely unexpected - but raised a whole slew of new problems.

He took a deep breath, steeling himself. _Give me courage to do this… _And he stepped forward.

_Tendo, that's not courage, that's stupidity! _Tacit protested.

Tendo didn't reply, just kept walking towards Slattern. The kaiju tensed, shoulders hunching, but made no move to pull away or raise a paw to strike. She only watched as the Tiny Leader approached her, closing the distance between them a step at a time.

He raised a trembling hand… and rested it on Slattern's chin. The hide felt warm and rough under his fingers, as if he were touching a living rock… and despite how miniscule and delicate his touch must have been, he felt the muscles beneath that thick hide tremble.

"I understand," he murmured.

Slattern shut her eyes, a low purring rumble drifting from her throat. Emotion welled up in Tendo's chest - Slattern's emotions. It took him a moment to recognize it as hope - hope that, perhaps, their kind stood a chance on this strange new world.


End file.
